Autobot Family
by Sminny-Wew
Summary: What if Sari was a normal girl who was taken in by Autobots? Follow Optimus Prime, Blackarachnia, and the other Autobots as they raise her. Included: tons of fluff, family bonding, and a few giggles here and there.
1. Left on a Doorstep

**A/N: Here's an interesting topic no one else probably thought of. This was inspired by an episode of ****Growing up Creepie****. Enjoy, especially if you love OPxBA!**

All characters © Their rightful owners

Autobot Family

by SanrioAnimaniacs13

1.0 Left on a Doorstep

It was dark and windy outside. The weather report had been wrong; a storm was very much approaching. So far, it was only dark clouds, wind, and thunder. But the chance of rain was evidently 100%.

Within the city of Detroit, many families—human and animal alike—were huddling together in their homes for protection. This same rule applied for a certain kind of family on the farthest side of Detroit. This "family" lived in an old, abandoned power plant. It was shut down years ago and forgotten by all who worked in it.

Just as the rain began to drip, a car pulled up in front of the factory. A man in a fancy white business suit with pink sunglasses and slightly gray hair stepped out of the car. He was followed by a slightly younger man with black hair, dark skin, and a sour-green lab coat. In the younger man's arms, he carried a basket with an orange blanket overtop of a baby. They ran to avoid the rain as best as they could. The younger man placed the basket at the door.

"I assure you, Professor Sumdac," the older man said, "This is the best decision. There is an actual family living here, and they will take much better care of her than you ever could, what with your busy schedule."

"I suppose you are right, Powell," the younger man said. "I…you go back to the car. I will be there in a second."

The older man, Powell, nodded and ran back to the car.

The younger man, Professor Sumdac, pulled two things out of his lab coat. On top of the basket, he placed a stuffed pink rabbit and a note.

"Please," he whispered to the rabbit, as though it were real, "Stay by my daughter's side. You're all she has left of a life that could've been."

He knocked on the door and ran back to the car. The rain masked his tears.

"Come on, Isaac," Powell said. "It's for the best."

Meanwhile, within the building, some of its inhabitants became tense.

"What was that?"

"I don't know."

"Brother, are you thinking it was a human?"

"Maybe so, brother. What do you think it is they are wanting?"

"Is something gonna happen to us?!"

"Calm down, Bumblebee. Blackarachnia and I will take a look."

The door came up like a garage door. Two robots peeked out. The first one was a blue and red male with blue eyes, and resembled a fire truck. The second robot was a spider-like female with a black and purple coloring and red eyes.

"Oh," the spider-bot said in awe, "It's a human protoform."

"I believe the humans call their protoforms babies," said an older bot from inside.

"It seems strange that a human would leave their baby for someone else," said the blue and red bot, carefully picking up the basket.

"Still, she looks so cute. We should take her in, Optimus." the spider-bot said to the blue and red bot.

"Oh no, we are NOT bringing an organic into our base!" the older bot said. "Besides, I'm not going to help you two if you get the crazy idea of raising her."

"Come on, Ratchet! Look, there's even a note." She took the note out of the basket. "It says, _'To whom it may concern, I can no longer take care of this child. I love her very much, but I simply cannot find the time to care for her. Please love her with all your heart and make sure she meets her needs, but don't spoil her. Thank you. P.S., her name is Sari.'_"

"Well, if she has nowhere else to go, then I guess we can take her in." Optimus said, nodding.

"You're the best, honey!" Blackarachnia said, planting a smooch on her love's cheek. Ratchet grumbled to himself. Optimus just smiled and followed Blackarachnia back inside.

"Who was it, boss-bot?" asked a large green Autobot. Behind him were twin orange and blue Autobots, two tall ninja-like Autobots, a pink and white bot, and a smaller yellow and black Autobot.

"A human left their child at our home." said Optimus. He held out the basket. "Her name is Sari."

The baby was a girl with dark skin. She clung onto her stuffed rabbit protectively. Her big, adorable maroon eyes looked fearful.

Blackarachnia took the baby out of the basket.

"Don't leak, sweetie," she soothed. "We won't hurt you."

The baby looked around. In her eyes, the scary big monsters suddenly turned into a peaceful, loving family. She cooed.

"Aww, she's kinda cute." said the green bot.

"For a human," added the yellow and black bot.

Blackarachnia cuddled the baby without crushing her to the best of her ability. "I'm Blackarachnia, your mother," she soothed. She held her in front of Optimus. "This is Optimus, your daddy." She gathered the other bots around. "These are your grandparents, Ratchet and Arcee."

"Oh, she's so adorable." Arcee said. "She has the prettiest optics."

"Eyes, dear," Ratchet corrected. He looked at Sari. "You're right though, she really is something."

"And these are your uncles, Prowl and Jazz," BA continued.

"So she's gonna be with us?" Jazz said. "Solid."

"Raising an organic definitely sounds interesting," added Prowl.

"And these are your brothers: Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Jetfire, and Jetstorm."

"Look, brother!" Jetstorm said. "Is real human protoform."

"She is so small, but is having the prettiest optics." Jetfire nodded.

"What did you say her name was?" asked Bumblebee.

"The note said her name was Sari." replied Optimus.

"Weird name," he replied. "But it does have a certain ring to it."


	2. Feeding Time

**A/N: Here's another one. Enjoy!**

**All characters © Hasbro**

Feeding Time

"Come on, sweetie," Blackarachnia said. "Eat your energon, like a good little girl."

Sari pushed the purple substance away.

"Why won't she eat her energon?" she asked rhetorically.

"Because humans don't eat energon." Ratchet stated rather flatly. "They have something called food for that kind of job."

"Then how do we feed her?"

"Not to worry," said Red Alert as she entered the kitchen. "Prowl and Jazz went to find some sustenance for her about half a megacycle ago. They're at a place called the grocery store."

"How the spark are they going to find food without calling attention to themselves?" Ratchet asked.

"Don't forget, Prowl is very skilled in the art of creating holograms."

Ratchet was about to reply, but he stopped himself.

That was when Prowl and Jazz came in with grocery bags filled with various items necessary for a growing girl. Prowl took out a baby bottle and filled it with a white liquid. He warmed it **(A/N: Please don't ask how. ^^;)** and placed the rubber cover on top. He handed the bottle to Blackarachnia.

"What is this?" she asked, pointing to the substance inside.

"That is milk. A baby feeds on this and soft foods until they can eat solid foods."

Blackarachnia fed the bottle to Sari. She happily grabbed onto the bottle and sucked away.

"Well, that takes care of her hunger issues." said Ratchet.

"For now," said Red Alert. "Ratchet and I have done research. We must be careful of what she eats and when she can eat it."

Blackarachnia sighed. "Raising a baby is harder than it looks, but it pays off."

Sari set down her empty bottle. Jazz took the bottle and placed a bowl filled with a mushy gold-yellow substance in front of Sari. He put a spoon in as well.

"And that is…?"

"Applesauce. It's part of a baby's diet." Red Alert answered.

"Alright, Sari," Blackarachnia soothed, picking up the spoon, "Open up."

Sari opened up her mouth and ate like a good girl.

"Wow, she's pretty smart," Jazz said. "Almost like she knew what you said, BA."

"She does seem quite smart," added Prowl.

"Good girl, Sari," Blackarachnia cooed, petting Sari on the head. "Now let's eat the rest of our food."


	3. Bath Time, A Lullaby, and First Words

**A/N: Here's what I might do sometimes. I might have like three short sections per chapter. Just so you know. Enjoy!**

**All characters © Hasbro**

3.1 Bath Time

"Hold still, Sari!" Optimus said in a small fit of laughter, struggling to get the organic child to stay still. For a tiny little girl, she sure did like to move. Sari giggled and splashed and clapped her hands. Optimus sighed. Normally, Blackarachnia would be the one taking care of these things, but he didn't want her to feel like she had to do all the work. So he'd offered to give Sari a bath.

"You need any help, Optimus?" asked Rodimus, who was passing by along with Ironhide.

"No, I've got it under control." he responded.

Sari splashed again. Some water splashed onto the three bots.

"She really likes water," said Ironhide. "Just like another bot I know."

"You know," Rodimus began, "If you want a break, I can-"

"No, I can handle it," Optimus interrupted. "I wanted Blackarachnia to relax. She's with Arcee right now."

"Okay," Rodimus said. He and Ironhide walked away.

"Alright Sari, time for a rinse," Optimus soothed. He splashed her with a small bucket of water. He didn't use his extinguisher, because that would lead to a foamy mess and a longer bath.

Sari giggled from the water.

There was nothing Optimus loved more than that giggle. The decision to take Sari in started out difficult, but with help from the other bots, he felt it was the best choice he'd ever made.

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3.2 Sari's Lullaby

Blackarachnia groaned. Sari was crying again, for the 3rd time that night. She loved her new daughter to pieces, but honestly, the crying was going to put her in the mental stockade.

"I got it, honey," she said to Optimus. Blackarachnia got out of her web hammock (charging berths hurt her back) and walked over to Sari's custom-made-from-spare-parts crib. She picked up Sari and cradled the human child in her arms.

"Aww, what's the matter?" she cooed. "Did you get scared, or have a bad dream?"

Sari stopped wailing, but she was still sniffling and crying. It was then that Blackarachnia remembered those strange sound patterns that humans created…Jazz said it was called music. She started humming to herself until she found a suitable tune. Then, she thought up some words and began to sing.

~+My dear little darling girl,  
Dry your pretty eyes  
I am here, please don't cry  
Shoo the darkness out+~

Sari yawned and struggled to keep her eyes open, but to no avail.

~+Light will come, baby mine  
Rest your head tonight  
Sleep and dream, baby mine  
You will never be alone+~

Sari was fast asleep. Blackarachnia sighed with relief and placed Sari back into her crib with her stuffed rabbit.

"What did you do?" Optimus asked.

Blackarachnia settled back into her web hammock. "I used a human technique called a lullaby."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.3 First Words

"Okay Sari, say, 'Daddy.' Can you say, 'Daddy?'?"

Sari just looked up at Arcee with her big maroon eyes.

"You can do it, Sari," Arcee soothed. "You're a very smart little girl. Say, 'Daddy.'"

"D…"

Optimus and Blackarachnia leaned forward a little.

"D…a…d…y. Da…ddy. Daddy."

Blackarachnia squealed with joy. "Now say, 'Mommy.'"

"M…mmm…o…"

"You can do it," Blackarachnia whispered.

"Mo…my…Mo…my. Mommy."

She squealed again. She picked up Sari and hugged her tightly. "Oh, I'm so proud of you!"

She handed Sari to Optimus. He gave his share of cuddles. "That's our girl."

"She's very smart for her age," said Arcee. "I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a genius when she's older."


	4. First Steps, A Birthday, and Meditation

**A/N: Another chapter? Man, I must love writing this. Enjoy!**

**All characters © Hasbro**

_First Steps_

"Come on, Sari," Optimus said, "Walk to Daddy. You can do it."

Blackarachnia was holding Sari up and helping her take the first few steps. She would let go, and if Sari fell, she would catch her.

"Go ahead," said Blackarachnia. "You can do it, cutie."

Sari took a brave step forward. She stumbled and fell back, but Blackarachnia caught her.

"Let's try again," she said.

Sari took another step. She stumbled again, but this time she didn't fall over. She took a few more wobbly steps forward. Suddenly, she was walking into the arms of her father.

"Way to go!" Blackarachnia cheered.

Optimus cuddled his daughter. "If I was given the chance by Primus himself to trade you for another sparkling, I'd immediately turn down the offer."

Sari giggled. "Mommy! Daddy!"

_Sari's 1st Birthday_

Sari walked around the base, which for a girl her age, she knew her way around surprisingly well.

"Mommy? Daddy?" she asked warily. "Gramma? Grampa?"

She looked in the living room; nothing.

"Bulky? Bumbee?"

No one was in their rooms either; not even Wasp.

"Jass? Powl?"

No bot was around anywhere. Sari started getting frightened. She clutched her stuffed rabbit protectively. It was so quiet…too quiet. She made her way to the kitchen.

"SURPRISE!"

Sari's eyes widened.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee came forward with open, ready-for-a-hug arms. "Happy birthday, Sari!" they chorused.

Sari giggled. "Bumbee! Bulky!" She hugged them back.

After slices of energon cake and chocolate cake were cut and devoured, Sari opened her presents. She got a picture book from Arcee, a toy xylophone from Bulkhead, a cute little stuffed spider from her parents, a robot dog from Bumblebee, a toy shuriken from Prowl and Jazz, and countless other gifts. Truly, it had been a happy first birthday for Sari.

_Meditating with Jazz and Prowl_

"Sari," Prowl said sternly, trying to catch the squirming wonder, "You have to concentrate."

Sari just kept stumbling after a flower that had blown out of her hands. She fell over and tried to balance herself, but she fell onto her butt. Sari's eyes looked like they were about to fill with tears.

Jazz picked her up. "Hey, don't cry, little girl," he said calmly. He picked up her stuffed rabbit. "You want this?"

Sari reached her hands out and tried to grab the rabbit, but Jazz pulled it away. She tried to grab it a few more times, but Jazz would pull it away each time. Then, when Jazz held it out the fifth time, Sari quickly grabbed it.

"That girl has some fast reflexes," Jazz said. He put Sari down. "I think she's too young to start meditating, Prowl."

"She learned to walk and speak quickly, and you just taught her how to be still and strike. Why wait?"

"Well, all she knows how to say right now is our names."

"Even so, she's very gifted for her age. We can all probably expect to see great things from Sari in the future."

Just like that, Sari was chasing after a butterfly. She tried to grab the butterfly, but he was too fast for her. Sari almost fell over again, but Prowl caught her.

He looked down at her and unsuccessfully repressed a laugh. "She seems to have a like for both technology and nature."

Sari giggled and clapped in response.

"I guess I can wait a little while."


	5. Secret Bonds, The Cold, and A Scratch

**A/N: I'm going to try and have Sari interact with each character. That includes members of the Elite Guard.** **Enjoy!**

**All characters © Hasbro**

_Secret Bond_

Wasp mumbled a Cybertronian obscenity. The test that Perceptor had given was tomorrow, and tonight was his last night to study. He'd been pulling all-nighters all week. He just needed this one last night, and he'd pass with flying colors. Just like he always did.

_Okay,_ he thought. _The surface area of a rectangle is 2xlxw+2xwxh+—_

Wasp stopped. He thought he heard something. He looked at the edge of his recharge booth and noticed Sari climbing up it.

He groaned. "Get out of here, twerp. I'm trying to study."

Sari, being young and paying no attention to Wasp, continued to climb up.

"I said stop!"

Sari stumbled over to Wasp. She gave him a hug.

"Get out, you little brat!"

Wasp expected Sari to start crying. But instead, she just kept looking at him. Wasp tried to continue studying, but he kept looking up from his work to see her still watching him. Finally, he sighed and picked her up.

"What, is everyone else too busy to watch you?" he asked. "Or have they had all they can take?"

Sari smiled. Clever girl, to see through his sarcasm like that.

"If there was ever anything that Bumblebee was right about—and there rarely is—I guess it'd be that you are kind of…cute."

Sari clapped and giggled.

"Well, the good thing is you won't remember any of this, so I don't have to worry about being embarrassed."

"W…was…p."

His optics widened.

"W-wa…sp. Wasp."

"Did you just say my name?"

"Sari?" Bumblebee's voice asked from outside Wasp's room. "Sari, where are you?"

Wasp panicked and jumped off of his recharge booth. Still holding Sari, he put on an annoyed expression. The door of his room came up. He held Sari out.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Wasp said, trying to sound annoyed. "The brat made her way into my room."

"Hey!" Bumblebee exclaimed, snatching Sari away. "She's not a brat! No one wanted your opinion, Wasp!"

"Just keep her away from me. I've got studying to do."

The door of Wasp's room flipped down. He could hear Bumblebee let out a pissed-off groan and walk away.

As Wasp went back to his studying, he had trouble focusing. He looked at his clock. It was already 10:37.

"Maybe I'll just take a little recharge," he yawned.

Wasp moved his things and turned off his light. As he went to recharge, he couldn't stop thinking about Sari. Maybe she wasn't such a brat after all.

If any bot heard him say that out loud, he'd take them offline in a nanoclick.

_I'm Cold_

It was one of the coldest winter days Detroit had ever known. But the Autobots didn't mind. They didn't feel the cold. However, when Sari had come into their lives five years ago, they discovered that she needed to be kept warm (and cool in the summer) constantly.

This lesson was learned by everyone, especially by Hot Shot. He had finished his training session with Brawn and was heading back to his room when he heard a strange noise. It was a quiet voice that, in a sense, vibrated. He looked down and saw Sari was making that noise. Her teeth were chattering, and she was rubbing her arms with her hands.

"Sari?" Hot Shot scooped her up. "What's wrong?"

"C-c-cold…"

"Oh, you're cold? Not to worry, I can fix that."

Hot Shot held Sari in his right arm and activated the torch on his left arm. He positioned the torch close to Sari. Sari reached her hand out to it.

"Don't touch it!" Hot Shot warned. "You'll burn yourself. Just get comfy."

Sari smiled. Hot Shot carried her to the main room. Prowl was reading, Bumblebee was demonstrating a cheat code on his DSi to the Jet-twins, and Ratchet, Arcee, Jazz, and Rodimus were having a conversation with Optimus and Blackarachnia. The couple paused their chat when they saw their darling daughter.

"There she is," said Optimus.

"Where was she?" Blackarachnia asked.

"The poor girl was wandering the halls, trying to find someplace warm," replied Hot Shot. "I'll set her by the fire."

Hot Shot set Sari down in front of the fireplace. He was about to turn and leave, but Sari grabbed his servo.

"Don't go…" she said.

"You want company, huh?" Hot Shot looked around. "I guess I've got nothing better to do."

Hot Shot sat on the floor with Sari curled up in his arms. They sat together by the warm fire until Sari's bedtime.

With Sari sound asleep, Hot Shot carried her to her room. He even tucked her in, with her stuffed rabbit by her side.

"Good night, kiddo," he whispered as he left the room.

_A Little Scratch_

Sari watched Bumblebee zap the targets on the training course from the bleachers.

"Go Bumblebee!" she cheered.

Sari switched her attention to the Jet-twins. They were acting as one entity, though not as Safeguard, and using their powers to blow up their targets.

"You can do it!" she called to them.

She looked over at Bulkhead. He was bashing targets left and right with his wrecking balls.

"Cool!"

Sari got up and ran over to Bulkhead.

"That was so cool! Can you show me how to do that?"

"It's not that easy, Sari," he said. "Besides, you don't have wrecking ball arms like me."

Sari looked down at her feet, then back up at her brother. "Bulkhead, when do you think I'll get my weapon?"

"I dunno. Maybe you won't get one because you're a…" Bulkhead froze mid-sentence.

"What? What am I?"

"N-nothing; you're just…still really young."

Sari walked over to a partly-smashed target. She kicked at the target, but missed and fell over.

"Ow!" she cried. She started sniffling and grabbed her knee.

"Sari?" Bulkhead picked up the human and looked at her. "Are you alright?"

Sari sniffled again and pointed to her knee.

"I'd better get you to Ratchet's," he said, switching to vehicle mode. "He'll know what to do."

Bulkhead sped out of the training room. Sari was securely strapped in the driver's seat. When he reached the medical bay, he switched back to robot mode and placed Sari on the medical table.

"You can't just barge in here like that, you know!" Ratchet barked at Bulkhead. He looked down and noticed Sari. "What's wrong with her?"

"Her knee's been scratched."

Ratchet took a look at Sari's knee. Then, he immediately rummaged through his cabinets for something. He pulled out a little spray bottle and a box of band-aids. He set the box down on a table and unscrewed the cap of the spray bottle.

"Now this might sting a bit," he said, "But trust me, it'll help."

Ratchet sprayed the liquid on Sari's cut.

"Ow!"

"Don't worry; it won't hurt after a few more seconds."

Ratchet screwed the cap back on, set the bottle down, and took a bandage out of the box. He took the tape off and placed the bandage on her cut.

"There you go, kid," Ratchet said. "Good as new."

"What do you say?" Bulkhead said to Sari.

"Thank you, Ratchet!" Sari said. She jumped down and hugged Ratchet's leg. Then Sari skipped out the door. Bulkhead started to follow behind, but stopped.

"Doc-bot," he asked, "Sari's a smart girl, right?"

Ratchet nodded.

"She knows she's different from us. She just doesn't know what she is yet."

Ratchet sighed. "Prime and Blackarachnia will tell her when she's ready."

"But when's that?"

"Just wait, Bulkhead," Ratchet said. He looked out of the medical bay to see Sari chatting with Bumblebee. "I think she'll understand when they do tell her."


	6. The Truth

**A/N: R & r! ^_^**

**All characters © Hasbro**

_The Truth_

Sari is now eight years old. Every day, after her lessons with Arcee, she would look out the window of the Autobots' home. She'd stare at the strange-looking organic children who played far across the street from her, then at the Autobots beside her, and compare the differences. The children were short like her, while the Autobots were each at least as tall as a street lamp. The children were covered by squishy skin; the Autobots were covered with hard armor plating. The children were playing catch; the Autobots were usually training or in combat practice.

Optimus and Blackarachnia noticed Sari doing this each day. They figured "the big question" was going to hit them soon. And it had nothing to do with protoforms.

And just like that…

"Mom? Dad?"

Prime and Blackarachnia turned around.

"Yes sweetheart?" Blackarachnia asked.

"You know how you guys are robots, and Ratchet and Arcee are robots, and Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Uncle Prowl, and everyone else are robots?"

The couple nodded silently.

"And you know how I'm short and don't have armor-plating?"

They nodded again.

"Well…am I a different kind of robot?"

Optimus sighed. "Honey, there's something we need to tell you. First of all…you're not a robot at all. You're an organic creature called a human. In a sense, we adopted you into our family."

"What's adopted?"

"Being adopted means you're being taken in by a family that isn't really yours."

Sari was silent.

"You see," Blackarachnia explained, "When you were a baby—the human word for protoform—you were left at our door by another human. You looked like you were abandoned, so we took you in and made you apart of our family."

Sari, who'd been looking at her feet, looked up at her so-called mother. "So you're not my real parents? None of you or the others are my real family?"

They shook their heads.

Sari backed away.

"Sari…"

Sari ran away. She raced to her room and slammed the door.

Some of the other bots stuck their heads out of their rooms. Wasp was one of them.

"What's with the noise?! I'm trying to enjoy myself!"

"Calm down, Wasp," Ironhide said. "What happened?"

"We told Sari the truth." BA answered.

"And she didn't take it well?"

"No."

"But we're going to talk to her," assured Optimus.

He knocked on Sari's door.

"_Go away."_ she said from behind the door.

"We just want to talk to you."

Optimus and Blackarachnia could hear Sari whispering to someone. But they couldn't hear the other voice; only their daughter's.

"Sari?"

The door creaked open.

"What do you wanna talk about?" her tiny voice asked.

Her parents stepped into her room. The wallpaper was a creamy-tan and the windows were covered by dark orange drapes. Her bed was a large tire with tons of sheets and blankets to make it comfy. Bunny, her pink stuffed rabbit, was resting on the pillow. Sari plopped onto her bed and grabbed Bunny to cuddle him. She swung her legs and looked at her parents. They seated themselves next to her.

"Sari," Blackarachnia began, "We know this is probably hard on you."

"Do you know who my real parents are?" she asked, her voice still quiet.

"No. All we know is that, whoever they were, they left you at our home."

"Why do you think they left me?" she asked. "Do you think they hated me?"

"Of course not, Sari." Optimus soothed. "I'm sure that they were probably too busy. Maybe they felt that raising a child would put stress on them."

"What if they were mean and abandoned me on purpose?"

"Oh don't say that," Blackarachnia calmly spoke, placing a hand on Sari. "I'm sure they were nice. But if they were mean, they probably wouldn't have taken as much care of you as we did. We've fed you, clothed you, raised you to be a good and honest girl…if they were mean, they'd never take the time to nurture you like we've been doing."

Sari looked up at her parents. Most of her tears were dry now, but her face was a little red.

"We may not be human," added Optimus, "but I believe we make just as good a family as the other families in the city."

Sari hugged both of her "parents." So they were robots. Why did that matter? As long as they cared about her and had her needs met, she wouldn't trade them for anyone.

To her, they weren't just giant robots. They were giant robots with human hearts and souls.


	7. Dream Sharing, Little Wonders, Speeding

**A/N: It's about time I wrote about her bond with Bumblebee. R & R! =D**

**All characters © Hasbro**

_Dream Sharing_

Bumblebee placed Sari on the ground of the plant's roof. She sat Indian-style and he sat behind her.

"So…" Sari began. "Which star do you think is Cybertron?"

"Maybe it's that one." Bumblebee pointed to a brightly-glowing blue star. "Cybertron's kind of blue."

"What about this one?" Sari pointed to a bright yellow star.

"Ooh! Ooh! It's gotta be that one!"

"Bumblebee, that's the moon!"

"Oh, right. I knew that."

The older brother and younger sister laughed together.

"Well, I guess this is why Prowl likes nature so much. I don't understand the still and silent part, but the stars _are_ kind of nice."

There was a small silence.

"Bumblebee, do Autobots have dreams?"

The yellow bot was caught off guard by that question. "Well…I guess. I don't always have dreams though."

"When you do, what do you dream about?"

"Lots of things: racing, being admired by millions of fans, you, and a bunch of other things."

Sari smiled at him. She crossed and folded her right leg over her left one and put her arms behind her head. "I always have dreams; they're usually different each night. I dream about flying, swimming with dolphins, magic…"

"But you know that Jetfire and Jetstorm can take you flying any day."

"No, I mean like…in my dreams, I actually have wings of my own, and I'm soaring through the air."

"Oh."

Sari looked up at her brother. The moon made her eyes shine and sparkle. "Last night, I probably had one of the coolest dreams ever."

"What was it about?"

"I was part robot."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I had this really cool jetpack, my eyes were blue like yours, and I had orange and yellow armor plating. I had these tonfa-things and a mallet for weapons. For some reason, I think I was really tall. But anyway, I was fighting these ginormous evil Decepticons."

"Wow, that sounds like a cool dream!"

There was another short silence.

"Bumblebee?" Sari asked. She sounded a bit hesitant. "Have you ever dreamed you were something else? Like a bear, or a fish…or a human?"

"Uh…that's a good question. I don't think so."

"Bumblebee, Sari," Optimus's voice called from inside, "It's getting late. Time to come inside."

"Aww," Sari whined, "I wish we could sleep out here."

"It's okay," Bumblebee said, picking her up. "Maybe Prowl can take you camping in the summer."

"I guess."

The two headed inside.

"Let me know what your next dream's about, okay?"

"…Okay." Bumblebee smiled down at her.

_Little Wonders_

"What kind of flower is this?" asked Sari.

"That is a tiger lily," Prowl replied. "They're called that because their bright orange color resembles the fur of an organic creature known as a tiger."

Earlier that day, Sari had asked Prowl if she could go with him to his meditation spot in the park. Normally Prowl went by himself, but Sari said she wanted to spend time with him. But of course, to avoid calling attention to themselves, they had to hide in a more private section. After he'd finished his meditation, Prowl was going to leave, but Sari wanted to stay and look at the flowers.

"And these?" Sari scooped up a handful of white flowers.

"Those are petunias. They're quite beautiful, aren't they?"

Sari nodded.

Prowl thought it was so adorable how Sari had a caring spark—heart, he corrected—for both technology and nature; the big, towering buildings and the small, delicate flowers.

Sari noticed a patch of blue flowers and bounded over to it. "What about these?"

"Those are forget-me-nots," Prowl answered.

"Why are they called that?" Sari asked.

"I'm not entirely sure myself, but I believe whoever named them obviously had someone close to their heart that they didn't want to forget."

Sari gently plucked one of the flowers from the patch.

"Uncle Prowl," she asked, "Can you keep a promise?"

"What kind of promise?"

"Well, if someday, my parents find me and take me away, I want you and all the others to promise you won't forget me."

Prowl picked Sari up and placed her on his shoulder.

"It seems highly unlikely your parents would know what you look like now, or remember where you're living, Sari."

"But still, I want you to have it," she handed Prowl the blue flower, "Just in case it really happens."

Prowl gazed at the flower in wonder. Was this single, tiny flower supposed to represent her heart? Her amount of love for him and all the other bots?

"Uncle Prowl? Hello, anybody home?"

Prowl snapped out of his thoughts.

"I think it's time to head home. You don't want your dinner to get cold, do you?"

"No, sir!" Sari peeped, followed by a giggle.

Prowl transformed to vehicle mode. Sari hopped into his sidecar as he activated his holographic driver.

"Let's go!" she exclaimed.

As Prowl headed back to the base, he thought of the forget-me-not Sari had given him. He was amazed at how, most often, she was caught up in the big thrills of life. Yet, she still cared for the little wonders that nature held.

It was her that made Prowl realize that not all humans were overly-attached to technology.

_Speeding_

"Faster! Faster!" Sari cheered and giggled as her older brother raced through the city (in his vehicle mode) like a blue blur. Then again, Blurr was his name.

"Sari-if-I'm-right-there's-something-called-a-speed-limit-that-I'm-supposed-to-follow-so-no-one-else-gets-hurt-or-crashes-into-other-cars-or-something-like-that," Blurr said, too fast for Sari to understand.

"Hang on a sec," Sari said. She turned a knob on the dashboard down a little. "Could you say that again, Blurr?"

"I have to stay below the speed limit, Sari," Blurr said, his voice at a normal speed. "If we were alone on the road, I'd gladly go faster, but I'm afraid I'll crash into somebody."

"Then can you at least do one more lap around the city? Pretty please with energon on top?"

Blurr sighed. "Alright."

Blurr raced one more lap around the city. But right when he was almost done…

"HEY! You in the blue car!" a police officer called. "Pull over!"

Blurr pulled over.

"Uh oh," Sari whimpered.

Quickly thinking, Blurr activated his hologram. Prowl had installed a tangible hologram projector in most of the other bots, as a precaution. And also because of a certain incident that involved Bumblebee that almost exposed him and the other bots to the humans. Bee doesn't like to talk about it.

"Don't worry, Sari," Blurr assured the child, "Nothing bad will happen."

"Roll down your window!" the officer barked.

Blurr rolled down his window. He came face-to-face with Captain Fanzone.

"What seems to be the problem, officer?" he asked casually.

"We got speed laws in this town, you know!" Fanzone replied. "How old are you?"

"Just turned 18 last week, officer," Blurr replied. "The name's Blake Automan."

"Oh really? I'm gonna need to see some ID, Mr. Automan," Fanzone said, holding out his hand.

Blurr gulped. "Uh…ID?"

"Yeah, you know, to show that you're a licensed driver."

Sari remembered what Prowl told her: _"If the bot you're riding with gets pulled over and the officer asks for an ID, show them this little card. It has information they can use to hide their true identity. I've made one for each of the other bots."_

"I have it!" Sari blurted out. She reached into her dress pocket. "Sorry officer. My big brother's always losing his ID, so he told me to hang onto it. I'm great at not losing things, you know."

She handed Captain Fanzone the ID. He read it over. Low and behold, the man's name was Blake Automan, and he had earned his license two years ago on June 7.

"Alright, I'm letting you off with a warning," Fanzone said. "But the next time you go over the speed limit, let's just say it won't be pretty."

"Understood-sir," Blurr replied. He pulled up his window, deactivated the hologram, and sighed.

"That-was-a-close-one." Blurr sighed.

"I didn't think that could actually happen," said Sari.

"Now-you-know-why-Prowl-made-those-holograms-for-us."

"Yeah, and I'm glad he did. Can we go home now?"

"Sure."


	8. Monsters, Hide and Seek, and Fevers

**A/N: A big thank you to all who reviewed last time and ever since I started this fic. It's all these positive reviews that keep me writing. =) I think you'll all be happy/interested when Sari goes to school.**

**Fantasyfan4ever: Thank you so much! I try my best as a writer. (My work effort is split between drawing on deviantART and writing on here.)**

**All characters © Hasbro**

_Monsters_

If there was one thing Sari claimed she could handle as a "big girl," it was sleeping in the dark. Then again, it wasn't total darkness; she always had her curtains open. The light of the moon was so much better than a night light. It never went out until sunrise, and it was always there to make sure she drifted into sleep.

But Sari couldn't say she felt _completely_ safe.

Sometimes, the nights were cloudy. On these cloudy nights, Sari would be wide awake with fear. Certain noises made her shake like a leaf. Was that a ghost? Or a witch? Has a Decepticon come to take me away?

One night, all three delusions happened at once. Clutching Bunny, Sari slipped out of her room. She went to the closest room she could find in the dark and scary shadows.

She knocked, he answered.

"Sari?" a tired voice asked. "Why are you awake?"

"I think there might be monsters in my room," she said. "Can I sleep here? Just for tonight, Uncle Rodimus?"

"Wait…monsters?"

"Yeah; I keep hearing ghosts and maybe even Decepticons."

Rodimus stepped out into the hall and entered Sari's room. He looked around.

"You don't have to worry, it's just the wind. It sounds like a ghost because it's sort of pushing against the wall. The wind also makes the branch scrape against the window. And I don't think a big old Decepticon could fit under a tiny bed like that."

"So…there're no monsters?" Sari asked.

"Of course not," Rodimus replied, tucking Sari back in. "Think you'll be able to go back to sleep?"

Sari nodded. "Good night, Uncle Rodimus."

"Night, Sari," he said.

The door closed, and Sari fell sound asleep.

_Hide and Seek_

"3…2…1! Be you ready or not, here I am coming!" Jetfire called.

He began looking around for his twin brother Jetstorm, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Sari. She had suggested playing hide and seek; they were looking for a good boredom-buster. So they agreed to play.

Jetfire immediately found Bulkhead kneeling behind the big couch.

"I have found you, bulbous green one," he whispered in Bulkhead's audio receptors.

Bulkhead let out an exasperated sigh as he stood up. "I can never find any good hiding spots."

"Now you will be helping me find brother, tiny yellow bot, and human sister," Jetfire added.

Jetfire and Bulkhead looked around until they noticed a yellow car parked around the back of the plant.

"We have found you, yellow bot!" Jetfire called to Bumblebee.

Bumblebee transformed to robot mode. "How the spark did you guys find me?"

"You were right there," Bulkhead said. "And I think using your vehicle mode to hide is against the rules, little buddy."

"Aw maaan!" Bumblebee whined.

"Shh…" said Jetfire. "Are you hearing that?"

A cute giggle and a shushing robot voice came from above.

"They're in the trees!" Bumblebee exclaimed, pointing up at one of the trees.

Jetfire moved closer and looked up.

"I am seeing you, brother and sister!" he called.

Jetstorm leapt from the branch with Sari in his arms.

"Who's it now?" asked Sari. Jetstorm set her down.

"Jetfire found me first," said Bulkhead. "So that makes me it. Everybody hide!"

Bumblebee scooped up Sari and ran towards the plant. He liked playing these games with Sari; it made him feel like a sparkling again. And with others like Bulkhead and the Jet twins playing too, he felt like he was home.

Well, home away from home.

_Fever_

"RATCHET! RATCHET!" cried Bumblebee as he raced into the med. bay, followed by Ironhide. "SARI'S BROKEN!"

"He's not in right now," said Red Alert. "What's wrong?"

"It's Sari!" Ironhide said, his voice a little shaky. "She came inside to warm up, and she suddenly passed out! She's burning up!"

Red Alert whipped out a thermometer from her medical tool supply and placed it in Sari's mouth. After a minute or so, she pulled it back out.

"101.2 degrees…that isn't good." Red Alert mumbled.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Ironhide.

"She has a high fever. A fever is when a human's inner body temperature overheats from a sickness; she seems to have the flu. What was Sari doing before she passed out?"

"Let's see…" Bumblebee thought out loud. "Me and Ironhide took her outside for a snowball fight. After a while, she started doing that chattering thing, so we took her inside. Her nose turned red and her eyes started leaking, but she wasn't sad. Then she started…backfiring, or something. Then she passed out."

Sari let out a sneeze.

"GAH!" Bumblebee almost jumped out of his plating. "Just like that!"

"She was sneezing," explained Red Alert as she placed Sari on a medical berth. "That's one of the ways humans try to release the germs within them, along with watery eyes and sweating."

"Gross!" Bumblebee yelped. "Why would humans _do_ that?!"

"That's not important. Both of you should leave. I'll take care of things from here."

As the two bots left the room, Bumblebee stopped and looked longingly back at Sari. Then he left.

Red Alert wrapped Sari in the blanket from her room and placed her pillow under her head.

"Nothing too deadly," she said to no one in particular, "You'll be feeling better in no time, little angel."

"Thank you, Red Alert," a tiny, slightly hoarse voice replied. "I love you."

Red Alert looked down at Sari. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling.

Red Alert returned the smile. She turned out the light above the berth and exited the room.

"I'll have someone prepare you some orange juice and soup later."

Red Alert slowly closed the door, but stopped it before it closed all the way. She poked her head in and whispered, "…I love you too, Sari."

And with that, she left the room.

**A/N: ****Thanks again, everyone. R & R!**


	9. Soap Bubbles, Sweet Treats, Father's Day

**A/N: Here's another one for everybody! =) Now with 30% more fluff! And I included Glyph because the story needs more female characters. (I'm not taking OCs.) Enjoy!**

**All characters © Hasbro**

_Soap Bubbles_

Sari giggled as she watched the bubbles float up, up, up into the sky. Some of them weren't successful, as they popped seconds after their formation. But Sari had not a single care, for she simply created more to take their place.

Meanwhile, Wasp was heading over to the training field. As he passed Sari, he stopped. He looked around; it was just him and the girl.

So, Wasp took a seat next to Sari and watched her blow her little bubbles.

"Uh, Sari," he asked, "What exactly are you doing?"

"Blowing soap bubbles," she said between blows.

"I know what bubbles are, but what are _soap_ bubbles?"

Sari showed the bottle to Wasp. "The stuff inside here is a special kind of soap-water."

She held out the wand.

"This is a bubble wand. You just dip it in the soap-water…"

She demonstrated for the green bot.

"…pull it out, and blow!"

She blew on the circle part of the wand. Several small bubbles floated freely towards the sky.

"So, like this?"

Wasp carefully took the bubble wand from Sari. He dipped it in the soap-water and blew. A few bubbles floated out. The sun cast faint rainbows from the bubbles on the ground, in a prism-like effect.

"Wow!" Sari exclaimed. "They're so pretty!"

"I think if you blew more slowly," Wasp said to the eager little child, "You'd make bigger soap bubbles."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

Sari tried blowing slowly this time. But right when it looked like the bubble would emerge, it popped.

"Aww…" she whined.

"Don't worry, squirt," Wasp reassured her, placing a servo on her shoulder. "You'll get it. You just need to keep trying. Never give up if you wanna be great; understand?"

Sari nodded.

"Hey Wasp!" a voice called.

Wasp stood up and stiffened. Had somebody caught him? Would he have to threaten them to keep their vocal processors shut, or else?

Wasp pretended to be minding his own business. "Uh, hey, Hot Shot."

"What're you doing out here?" he asked.

"Wasp and I were blowing bubbles!" Sari exclaimed.

Wasp would've squished Sari right then and there if he didn't care about her so much.

"What?" said Hot Shot's disbelieving tone.

"The brat's had too much of that sugar stuff," Wasp lied. "You know what it does to her."

"Anyway…Bumblebee just got that Brawl game he ordered online. Wanna see if you can slag him?"

"Oh yeah!" Wasp said. "But I'll be in in a second."

"Okay," said Hot Shot. He went back inside.

Wasp looked at Sari. "Okay, here's the deal: no one, and I mean NO ONE, can know about that."

"I won't tell anybody if you don't want me to."

Sari and Wasp carefully shook hands.

"Can I watch you play against Bumblebee?"

"Sure."

Wasp picked up Sari, placed her on his shoulder, and headed inside.

_A Sweet Treat_

"The energon cookies are done!" Sari called to her mother. "Can I take them out of the oven?"

"Alright, sweetie," Blackarachnia replied. "But be very careful. The oven is extremely hot, and I don't want you burning yourself."

"I'll be fine," Sari beamed as she put on her oven mitts.

She opened the oven, carefully took out the pan, placed it on the stove, and closed the oven.

"Good job, Sari," Blackarachnia said, giving her daughter a hug.

Arcee gave Sari a pat on the back. "You're shaping up to be quite the…what's the word…chef."

After about a minute or so, Sari grabbed the spatula and separated any energon cookies that might've baked together. Then she placed them on a tray and, after giving one to both of her parents, started walking around the plant with the tray, handing cookies to all the bots she passed.

After a while, Sari stopped at one of her last destinations: Glyph's room.

Sari poked her head inside. Glyph was reading what looked like an interesting book.

She knocked on the door. Glyph looked up.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Want some energon cookies?" Sari asked, smiling. She held out the tray. "I made them myself. Mom and Arcee helped, but I did most of the work."

"Sure." Glyph accepted the treat. "Thanks, Sari."

"You're welcome. Now I'm off to Uncle Jazz's room."

Glyph took a bite of her energon cookie. It was nice and sweet, the way Arcee used to make energon treats during class. Glyph remembered those days: she was always the one, as the humans say, "with her nose in a book." (Of course the expression was somewhat ridiculous, seeing as she didn't have a nose and she read data inputs that were similar to books. But still, it was all the same.) After lessons, Arcee would set out some energon treats for the class. It was a happier time…to coin a phrase.

Glyph looked at the energon treat in her servo and thought of Sari. That girl may've been an unexpected event in the Autobots' lives, but it certainly felt like she was meant to be with them.

Glyph knew she wasn't the only one who thought that.

_Father's Day_

"Shh!" Sari shushed Bulkhead as they stepped out of the kitchen.

"Why are we doing this again?" asked Bulkhead, remembering to whisper.

"Because it's Father's Day," she whispered back. "And we should do something nice for Dad."

"You mean Prime?" Even after about eight years, Bulkhead still wasn't used to hearing Sari call Optimus, "Dad."

"Yup."

"And what exactly is 'Father's Day'?"

"It's a holiday Red Alert told me about. She knows a lot about human customs. Father's Day is when you honor your dad for being so cool. You give him presents or a card to make him feel special."

"Does this count as making him feel special?" Bulkhead looked at the slightly messy energon breakfast he and Sari had prepared for Optimus. There was also a type of flower pot with some kind of flower (sculpted by Bulkhead himself) inside it and a card Sari had drawn on poster paper.

"Of course! Red Alert said that serving breakfast in bed is one of the best things you can do for your dad. Well, technically, what we're doing is breakfast in berth."

Bulkhead pushed the button on the wall beside Optimus's room. The door slid open. He and Sari tip-toed as quietly as they could inside.

"Dad?" Sari whispered.

Optimus slowly opened his optics and sat up on his berth.

"Sari?"

"Morning, Dad!" Sari chirped. "Happy Father's Day!"

"What's Father's Day?"

"It's a human custom Red Alert told Sari about," Bulkhead answered.

"Today's your day. And to start, Bulkhead and I made your breakfast just the way you like it!"

Optimus looked at the tray's contents. It was a little sloppy, but truly prepared the way he liked it.

"Thank you," he said.

"Bulkhead made the flower in the pot." Sari beamed.

Bulkhead placed a servo behind him as his faceplate lightly warmed up. "Ah, it was nothing, really."

A little while after he finished his energon, Optimus noticed the card.

"What's this?"

"It's the card I made for you." Sari's tone held pure sweetness.

Optimus read the card in his processor. On the front, "Happy Father's Day" was written in crayon. On the inside was a stick-figure drawing of himself and Sari and the words "You're the best dad in the world" written next to it. Under that was printed, "Love, Sari and Bulkhead."

"You made this?" Optimus asked. "For me?"

Sari nodded.

"Wow…thank you, Sari!"

Optimus picked up the girl and placed her on his shoulder. She wrapped her hands around his head and hugged him. He gently wrapped a finger around her to return the hug. Then he set her back down.

"We'll take this stuff back to the kitchen for you, boss-bot." said Bulkhead, taking the tray off of the berth.

"I'll help him!" Sari added.

As she and Bulkhead left the room, Optimus looked back at the card. He couldn't believe the amount of care she had for him. He felt like his spark was electrocuting.

"He really liked the card you made him," Bulkhead whispered as he and Sari headed back to the kitchen.

"I know," Sari whispered back. "Now I can hardly wait for Mother's Day!"

**A/N: SO…MUCH…FLUFF. To everyone out there, Happy Father's Day! =D R & R!**


	10. Fireworks, Video Games, and LeafDiving

**A/N: Sorry for keeping you guys waiting. ^^; I was writing this chapter back in early July, but it got erased. But now it's done, and ready for you to read. By the way, I now accept anonymous reviews. =)**

**A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY REVIEWERS! YOU ALL GET FREE PIXELIZED COOKIES!**

**All characters © Hasbro**

_Fireworks_

Sari bounded into Bumblebee's room as cheery as ever.

"Bumblebee!" she said. "Bumblebee!"

"What is it, Sari?" he asked.

"Tonight's the fireworks display! Wanna come with me?"

"Sure! …What's a firework display?"

"Fireworks are so cool! Aunt Red Alert told me that they're these pretty and colorful explosions used to celebrate Independence Day!"

"And what's Independence Day?"

"A holiday where we celebrate our freedom. Now come on, let's go!"

Sari tugged her big brother's hand along as she made her way to the door.

As they headed for the door, they stopped next to Bulkhead.

"Hey Bulkhead, you wanna come watch the fireworks with us?" she asked.

"Fireworks?"

"It's a human holiday Red Alert told Sari about," Bumblebee explained.

"Oh. Sure, I'll come."

"Yay!" Sari cheered as she followed her brothers outside. She hopped into Bumblebee's vehicle mode, fastened her seatbelt, and enjoyed the ride to the docks.

When they arrived, the place was pretty crowded. But they managed to find a good viewing spot. Bumblebee helped Sari out of him and put her on top of Bulkhead for a better viewing experience.

"Now remember," Sari instructed her brothers, "No one knows about you guys. Except for that one time when Bumblebee—"

"Cut to the chase!"

"Try to stay in your vehicle mode, please!"

"Don't worry, we will." Bulkhead promised.

After a few more minutes of chatter, the lights dimmed. The first firework came fizzing out, and exploded in a colorful shade of green.

"AH! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" screamed Bumblebee.

"No, don't freak out, Bumblebee!" Sari calmly told him, "It's just the fireworks!"

"…Oh. Right, I knew that."

The display truly was what Sari had told her brothers and more. So many explosions, created in colorful hues and amazing shapes. There were deep blues of stars, and bright oranges of flowers. And the finale? For once, Bumblebee was at a loss for words. So many blindingly beautiful creations. Bulkhead was probably the most amazed at the creativity that the people who made them held.

After the show, people were cheering and whooping like they'd all won the lottery.

"That was amazing!" Bulkhead cheered.

"Thanks for inviting us, Sari." added Bumblebee.

No response.

"Sari?"

"Shh," whispered Bulkhead, "Listen."

Both bots listened carefully, and could hear the quiet breathing of their young organic sister.

"She's asleep." Bumblebee whispered.

"No one's around. Can you put her in me?"

"Sure," replied Bumblebee. He transformed to robot mode and carefully placed Sari in Bulkhead's driver seat.

Then, when all was said and done, the trio headed back home.

_Video Games_

"HA!" Bumblebee cheered victoriously. "Read it and weep!"

Wasp growled. This video game Bumblebee loved—Ninja Gladiators or something—had to be rigged. It just _had_ to be! He couldn't have beaten him 20 times! It just wasn't natural for Wasp to lose at anything!

"You cheated!" Wasp yelled, throwing the controller at the ground angrily.

"I did _not_!" Bumblebee yelled back. "No one likes a sore loser, Wasp!"

"I know you fixed this! There's no way you can be better than me!"

"Whoa, what crawled up and bit your fender?! You need to stop acting like such a son-of-a-glitch!"

"Who are you calling—"

"STOP IT!" screamed a young pair of lungs.

The two Autobots looked down at their red-headed little sister. Bumblebee was instantly filled with fear that he'd upset Sari. Wasp looked like he didn't care, but he was just as worried as Bumblebee on the inside.

"STOP FIGHTING!" she yelled. "I hate it when you guys fight! It scares me…"

A tear began trickling down her cheek.

Bumblebee immediately picked her up. "Don't cry, Sari, we didn't mean to fight. Wasp was just being a jerk because he didn't win."

"Why?" she asked with a sniffle. "He's always nice to me, so why would he be mean to you?"

Wasp looked away. Why did she just blow his cover like that?! She promised not to!

Bumblebee looked at the green bot. Wasp? Being nice? Sari must've been joking. Before he could make a comment, he turned back to his sniffling sister.

"It's okay, Sari, don't cry. I'm here."

Sari began to stop crying, but it took a while for the sniffling to stop.

"You wanna play against us?"

Sari nodded.

"Okay, here's an extra controller, and you know what to do."

Wasp watched the yellow and black bot soothe Sari. He longed to be that caring in public…but after demonstrating a tough-guy behavior at boot camp, and bullying so many others…no one would ever let him live it down. He'd have to keep up the mean and rude behavior publicly. There was nothing he could do about it.

"Hang on," Bumblebee said, running out of the room, "I'm just going to get a can of oil."

And yet when they were alone…

Sari flopped onto the couch and accepted a hug from Wasp. How sad it was, to only be able to show kindness in the dark, never the light.

Would things ever change? Wasp hoped they would.

_Leaf-diving_

"There," Ironhide said happily. "All the leaves are raked up on my side. How about your side, Sari?"

Ironhide looked over to see Sari had gathered all her leaves together as well. But wait…she set down her rake, began to run, and jumped into the leaves, giggling as she sent them flying everywhere!

"Why did you do that?" he asked. "You just got them all nice and together!"

Sari poked her head out of the leaf puddle, still giggling. "Come on, Ironhide! Haven't you ever wanted to jump into the leaves before?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because it's fun!" Sari stood up, stepped out of the pile, and brushed any clingy leaves off of her clothes. "You know, you don't always have to work. I mean, it's nice to get things done, but don't you ever stop to have a little fun?"

"Well…" Ironhide gave the idea some thought. "You understand that we'll have to clean this all up again, right?"

"M-hm."

Ironhide sighed and looked at his pile. "I must be out of my processor." He backed up, ran towards his leaf pile, and jumped right in.

"How was that?" asked Sari.

Ironhide sat up. "That was actually kind of fun!"

"And you know what would be even better?"

After more raking, the duo had combined their piles to make for an even softer and bigger landing.

"Ready?"

He nodded.

"One…"

They backed up.

"…two…"

They were both as still as statues.

"…THREE!"

They charged and leapt into the mountain of leaves, sending showers all over the lawn. The two of them laughed together as they watched the leaves fall everywhere.

"Ironhide, Sari," Blackarachnia called from indoors, "Are you two almost done?"

"Almost!" Sari called back. Then she looked up at Ironhide and winked. He winked back.

A few minutes later, the area was finally cleared of leaves, save for the pile they made in the corner.

As Ironhide followed Sari inside, she said to him, "We should have fun together more often." Then, the young girl skipped inside to grab a snack.

Ironhide looked at a stray leaf that had been stuck to his arm. "Yeah," he said to himself, "We should."

He let go of the leaf and watched it sail through the autumn sky.

**A/N: Again, thank you for all of your support. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter, because that's when Sari starts school!**

**See you then!**

**Sanrio**


	11. School Daze

**A/N: Well, the votes have been tallied, and you all know which title won. ^_^ Congratulations to our winner: Bookworm Gal! And as a special treat, her OC Gadget will appear in this chapter. Now then, enjoy Sari's first day of school!**

**All characters © Hasbro**

_

* * *

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School Daze

Sari was awakened by the snoring of her stuffed animal Bunny. He was the pink bunny that she'd had pretty much all her life, and was her only non-family friend. Recently, Bunny had begun talking to her and revealed that he had a growing shard inside of himself. Sari would've told her family about this, but it seemed to be that they couldn't hear him. So she decided to keep it to herself. For now.

"Bunny…" Sari mumbled, followed by a yawn. "You snore too loud."

Bunny replied something unintelligible. Sari stepped out of bed and over to the curtains. Parting them ever-so quietly so as not to disturb Bunny, she let the sunlight shine onto the floor, instantly warming her bare toes. Grabbing Bunny, she slumped like a zombie—moaning/yawning like one as well—to the kitchen. There, her twin brothers and her Uncle Jazz and Uncle Prowl were enjoying some breakfast energon.

"Good morning to you, sister!" the Jet-twins saluted to their little sister.

"Good morning, Sari," Prowl greeted.

"Mornin' kiddo," added Jazz.

Sari yawned and waved back. It had been about a month since Optimus and Blackarachnia had talked to Sari about her origins, and she seemed to be taking it pretty well. But Prowl could sense that something was troubling his human niece. After slowly eating her cereal and waving again, Sari took her seat by the big window. She'd been doing that ever since last week. Unless she was eating or sleeping, she'd just sit and stare out of the window until bedtime. And twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, she'd stand on her knees with her hands plastered upon the window. Nobody knew what she was looking at, or if she was even trying to find something. Oh sure, Bumblebee and the Jet-twins had tried to coax her away with a round of Ninja Gladiators, but she actually dismissed them, saying, "Maybe later."

"Later" never came.

This was getting on Bumblebee's nerves. So one day, he marched right up to her and yelled, "What the spark are you looking at?!"

Sari didn't flinch. If anything, she just continued to blink, breathe, and stare. Bumblebee let out an aggravated sigh.

"I'll only talk to Mom and Dad," mumbled the tiny girl's voice, just loud enough for his audio sensors to pick up. "Can you please get them?"

Bumblebee, in utter shock and confusion, left to get Optimus Prime and Blackarachnia.

**He sounds mad,** said Bunny. **Maybe you should give this big-yellow-car-watching a rest.**

"That's nice, Bunny." Sari droned, lost in her staring.

When retrieved by Bumblebee, said parents knelt by Sari, who continued to watch the outside world.

"Sari?" her father asked. "You've been sitting here for two weeks. Is something bothering you?"

Sari's head and eyes lowered, as if upset.

"Do you want to talk about it, honey?" asked Blackarachnia.

**Just tell them, **said Bunny. **You'll feel better.**

Sari's head rose back up when she heard a familiar (to her at least) sound. Her hands flew to the window and she stood on her knees as she peered outside. A big yellow bus had pulled up to the house that lay across the road from her home. Two or three children climbed onto the bus, laughing and chatting to themselves. Then the bus drove away, as if it were never there.

"Where do those kids go every day?" asked Sari in less of a drone-like tone. "And is that big car an Autobot?"

"I'll get Red Alert," Optimus mumbled to Blackarachnia.

"Do you know, Mom?" Sari asked, looking up at her mother with sheer innocence and curiosity.

"I'm afraid I don't, sweetie."

Optimus returned, followed by Red Alert.

"Aunt Red Alert," asked Sari, "Why does that big yellow car always go by and take those kids with it?"

"Well," Red Alert began, "That big yellow car is called a bus. Every five days per week, it transports children to school."

"What's school?"

"You know those lessons you always have with Grandma Arcee?"

"Yes."

"School is like that, but there are a lot more children. In school, you learn about a lot of different things and also make friends with other children."

"You mean…other _human_ children?" Sari's voice suddenly returned to its normal tone. Optimus, Blackarachnia, and Red Alert noticed a twinkle in Sari's eyes.

"Can I go to school, Mom? Can I, Dad? Can I can I PLEASE?"

"I don't know, Sari," Optimus pondered. "It might seem a bit odd if a human child suddenly just dropped into this school place."

"Not to worry," Red Alert assured the couple. "Prowl, Jazz, Glyph, and I have created a file all about her 'background' to show to the school board. To them, she'll be just like any other child."

"Can I go tomorrow, please?" Sari begged, using the traditional puppy-dog-eyes trick.

"I'm afraid tomorrow is Saturday," Red Alert replied. "Children don't go to school on Saturdays or Sundays. But does Monday sound good?"

Sari nodded. "I can't wait! I'll get to meet other kids like me!"

"The others have taken to searching around the plant for the supplies that Sari will need," Red Alert whispered to the couple. "So you don't need to worry. However…when I ship the papers to the school, they'll expect to have a conversation with one of the parents…" She pointed to Blackarachnia. "…namely you."

"What?!" the half-spider femme exclaimed. "We could end up exposing ourselves to the humans! There'd be a mass panic!"

"Calm down, Elita, it's just a phone conversation. I'm going to explain to the principal that you're a very busy woman, but that you have the time for a phone call. You just need to hook onto the frequency on his phone."

Blackarachnia sighed. "Alright. I'll do it."

"And then Prime will deliver Sari to the school on Monday." Red Alert faced Optimus. "You just have to drop her off at the front of the school and drive home. Then you pick her up at three o'clock."

Optimus nodded.

"I can't believe it!" Sari squealed. "I'm going to go to school!"

Some time later...

Saturday and Sunday seemed to drag on. Sari was so anxious; whenever she spoke, it was usually a question or a spoken-aloud thought.

"I wonder if they'll like me…Do you think those kids will like me?" she asked Hot Shot as he took a break from his training.

"I don't see why you're so worried," Hot Shot replied. "You're smart, nice, a video game wiz—you should be asking yourself why they _wouldn't_ like you."

"But what if they don't?"

"Relax. I'm sure you'll make a lot of new friends."

Glyph stepped into the room. "Okay Sari, time to make sure you have everything you need for school!"

At the mention of the "s" word, Sari dashed out of the room. Glyph and Hot Shot chuckled at their younger sister's action.

"She's really excited, isn't she?" asked Hot Shot.

"Well, it is the first time she'll have met other humans." replied Glyph. "Well, I'd better make sure she doesn't hurt herself."

As Glyph exited the room, Hot Shot followed after her. "Hey, Glyph?"

"Hm?"

"This might sound kind of weird, but…have you ever wondered what it's like to be a human?"

Glyph seemed hesitant with her answer. "Out of my own desire, or for her sake?"

"Either one."

"Then I choose both. Since we came here, I've become interested in Earth's history and multiple customs and religions. I assume you've heard Sari wish we were normal?"

Hot Shot nodded. "But she always says she wants it like that for just a day."

"It would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah. Maybe one of these solarcycles, the doc-bot can make something that'll make Sari's life easier."

The next day...

Sari's alarm clock—a noise that most children would dread—discontinued her slumber. She turned it off, grabbed Bunny, and ran into the kitchen. Her parents and her Aunt Red Alert were already awake.

"Good morning, Sari." Blackarachnia greeted as she took out a bowl, a spoon, and a box of cereal.

"Are you ready for your first day of school?" Optimus asked.

Sari nodded.

"We've received the information you need," said Red Alert, handing Sari a piece of paper. "It will tell you your teacher's name, your classroom number, and all of the students that are in your class."

Sari read the paper over. Her teacher was Mr. Nordmark in Room 34. She skimmed through the names of classmates; Mitch Anderson…Gabriel Quinn…Ishmael Pedrad…Daniel Witwicky…Alice Starling…they all sounded like friendly kids to her. Sari set the list aside, fixed up her cereal, and headed into the living room. Bumblebee was already there, watching an old cartoon from 2009.

"Morning, Bumblebee," Sari said cheerily.

Bumblebee turned away from the screen to look at his sister. "You excited about today?"

Sari nodded and smiled. "I can't believe I'm going to meet other kids!"

_I can't believe you've already said it like 20 times,_ thought Bumblebee.

"So which episode is this?" she asked.

"It's the one where Chowder, Mung, and Schnitzel help Gazpacho deliver the fruit-grenade thingies."

"Ooh, that one's a classic!"

After much laughter and cereal-devouring, Sari was heading back to her room. But then, she heard Bulkhead calling for her.

"Hey Sari, can you come here for a second?"

"Sure, Bulkhead." Sari stepped into her brother's room. The floor was littered with various dried paint stains, hanging from the walls were framed paintings like The Starry Night and Sunflowers, and taped to the ceiling was a poster that said, "deviantART: where ART meets application." But what caught Sari's attention was the dress that hung on the seamstress dummy. It started out with a purplish-black collar, and then gave way to a green front with another purple-black section underneath. The left sleeve started off blue, went lighter, and then back to a normal shade of blue; this was the same with the right sleeve, but in orange. The skirt of this wondrous dress was white with a yellow stripe going down the front. Next to the dress was a pair of brown boots with wheels on the sides and a gold streak around the bottom; white stockings were placed inside of the boots. The outfit altogether seemed to have been painstakingly worked on for a long time.

"So what do you think?" asked Bulkhead. "I made it for you for whenever there's a special occasion."

Sari carefully took the dress off of the dummy, for fear of accidentally pulling a thread. Putting the dress up to herself, she saw that it seemed to fit; feeling it, she also found said dress to be incredibly soft.

"Oh Bulkhead, I love it!" The girl then preceded to glomp her brother. "Can I try it on?"

Bulkhead nodded. With that confirmation, Sari vanished to her room. When she came back, her orange nightshirt was replaced by the dress and the boots had substituted her slippers. As an added bonus, her pigtail holders were pink and red and her hair clips were red and blue.

"Thanks again, Bulkhead," she said. "I'm off!"

"See you later!" he replied.

Sari grabbed Bunny and stuffed him inside. _Sorry if you're cramped, but I need someone to keep me company at school._

**I understand,** replied Bunny. **But next time, make a little room.**

"Well I've got to put my stuff _somewhere_," Sari replied.

"Don't forget the note," said Arcee, handing Sari the sheet with the information she needed.

"Thanks, Grandma-Arcee," Sari said, giving her grandma a hug.

"It's time to go," said Optimus, who then transformed to vehicle mode.

"Bye, everyone!" Sari called to the rest of her family. Her response was a variety of "good-byes" and "see you soon" s.

Sari hopped into the passenger seat of her dad's vehicle mode. As the garage door-like entrance of their home lifted up, Optimus activated his hologram, just in case anybody saw them. Then, the fire truck sped off with Sari cranking her favorite songs.

After a minute or two, they arrived at Carson Street Elementary: Sari's new school. Sari stepped out of her dad and waved to him.

"Bye, Dad! I'll see you at 2:30!"

"Bye, Sari," Optimus replied, making his hologram wave back at her before he left.

Sari turned back to the school. It was big…maybe bigger than Bulkhead, and as wide as her home. But then again, everything looked bigger to an eight-year-old. Sari walked inside, paying more attention to the sheet than where she was going. She had to find Mr. Nordmark in Room 34. But all the doors looked the same…how was she supposed to know which room was hers or what Mr. Nordmark looked like? The more she wandered, the older the kids who passed by her appeared. Sari found herself lost in a sea of teenagers. Red Alert had failed to inform her that her school was combined with a high school, and the hallway she roamed belonged to the freshmen and sophomores.

Sari hadn't been this scared since Jetfire and Jetstorm had been in that accident when she was five. She felt like crying.

**Sari, don't worry, I'm right here,** Bunny consoled.

Sari snatched Bunny out of her backpack and squeezed him tightly.

**Too…tight!**

"You okay?"

Sari looked up at the source of the voice. It belonged to a thin girl who was a head taller than Sari with bluish-green eyes and braided blonde hair. She wore a lavender t-shirt and jeans; the name on the ID around her neck was mostly hidden, but Sari could make out a part that said "Gadget."

"Are you lost?" the girl asked Sari.

"I…I'm trying to find Room 34."

"Mr. Nordmark's class?"

Sari nodded.

The older girl looked at her watch tentatively. "I'll be late for this…" she muttered before reaching her hand out to Sari. "Lucky for you, I know where his room is because I used to have him."

Sari accepted it. "You did? Is he nice?"

"You bet," the girl said as she guided Sari through the crowd of teens. "If I had to pick a teacher, he'd be my #1 favorite." The girl led Sari to a sleek silver elevator. They stepped inside and the girl pressed a button that said EF1.

"This is the elevator," the girl explained. "It's for handicapped students who can't use the stairs, but other kids have used it when they're either in a hurry or too lazy to walk."

Sari giggled.

"It'll take us to the first floor of the elementary building, where you belong," the girl said. "By the way, I'm Gadget."

"I'm Sari."

"For what?"

"No, that's my name."

"Like the Indian dress thing?"

"Yup."

"Cool."

There was a brief, awkward silence.

"You're a third grader, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is this your first time here?"

"M-hm."

"Where are your parents? They might be looking for you."

"M-my parents were too busy to make it. My dad's a…'firefighter,' and my mom studies bugs and kemy-stree."

"You mean chemistry?"

"Yeah, that thing."

"It seems kind of weird for them to let you come here on your own."

"My dad drives me here, but then he has to get ready. So what grade are you?"

"Ninth."

"Wow! Is it hard?"

"Kind of, but I'm doing pretty well."

At last, the elevator stopped. Sari took Gadget's hand and followed her down the hallway. This one was less crowded and had no teenagers. After walking for a few doors, Gadget and Sari approached a blond-haired, 30-something teacher with a matching beard in a white shirt, blue tie, and black pants.

"Well if it isn't Gadget!" the man said. "What brings you to Room 34?"

"Hey Mr. Nordmark," Gadget replied with a smile. "Just delivering a little package."

Mr. Nordmark bent down to Sari's level. "You must be the new student. Your aunt told me all about you on the phone."

Just then, a loud ringing sounded. Sari covered her ears. She'd never heard anything as loud as her dad's siren before.

"Crap!" Gadget hissed. "I gotta run. Nice meeting you, Sari!" Gadget waved and ran back to the elevator.

"Bye, Gadget!" Sari called, waving as well. She then followed her teacher into the classroom.

Sari had never seen so many kids in her life. She recognized the kids who lived all the way across from her; her eyes stopped on a girl who was walking up to her. The girl was her age with a lighter skin tone, coal-black eyes, and long, raven hair; she wore two purple hair clips, a high-collar purple and primrose (A/N: Think Crayola markers XD) shirt, a purple and black skirt, a glove-like watch, primrose stockings, and purple and black boots.

"I'm Ishmael," said the girl.

"Hi, I'm Sari."

"Do you want to sit next to me?"

"Okay."

As Sari followed Ishmael to her desk, she heard a snicker. She looked at a girl with wavy dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes who was wearing a turquoise shirt, tan shorts, white socks, and lace-less turquoise sneakers. The girl was looking at her smugly.

"Nice dress, new kid," the girl said. "Where'd you get it, Cinderella's closet?" She laughed to herself.

**She sounds like an angel,** said Bunny sarcastically.

"Ignore Alice," Ishmael told her. "She's nothing but a mean-spirited girl. _I_ like your dress."

"Really? Thanks, my big brother made it for me."

"Then he must be style-blind!" Alice said.

"Leave them alone, Alice," said a new voice, one that made Sari's heart stop.

Walking up to Sari and Ishmael was a boy with brown hair that almost touched his shoulders, matching chocolate-brown eyes, and fair skin. He wore a short-sleeve red shirt, jeans, and red and white sneakers with a white jacket in his hands.

Just looking at him made Sari's knees feel wobbly, her heart rate speed up, and her cheeks turn red.

"Is Alice giving you two a hard time?" he asked. That voice made Sari lose it within her mind.

"Just the usual," said Ishmael. "But we know to avoid her. Right, Sari?"

Sari didn't respond. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she stop staring dumbly at this boy?

**Earth to Sari! Snap out of it!**

"Huh? What?" Sari mumbled. "Uh, yeah, r-right."

"Let me know if she bugs you guys too much, okay?" he said, before heading back to his desk.

Sari leaned to Ishmael's side. "Who was _that_?" she whispered in an unintentionally giddy voice.

"That is Chad Jones," replied Ishmael. "But because of his amazing sports skills, we call him Kicker."

Kicker…that name was like music to Sari's ears. Not the rock music she and Bumblebee played that irritated Uncle Prowl, but the love ballad music from that mushy-gushy romance movie Glyph was obsessed with.

The bell rang again, and the children who were standing took their seats.

"Morning, class," Mr. Nordmark said casually. "Today, we have a new student joining our class. Will you please come up to the front, miss?"

**Good luck,** said Bunny.

Sari got out of her seat and walked to the front of the class.

"This is our new student, Sari…"

"Automan; Sari Automan." Sari said proudly.

**

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**

A/N: HOLY CRAP THAT WAS LONG. But I bet it was a special treat after a long break, eh? Some elements for this chapter are from my friend/"partner" Consuelo Higdon's one-shot series "Automan," which is based on this fanfiction. Also, Sari's teacher is based on my 7

**th**** grade Environmental Science teacher, Mr. Nordmark. Alice (with a made-up last name) is the same person from ROTF but younger and normal, as is Kicker from the Unicron Trilogy. Ishmael, Gabriel, Daniel, and Mitch are all TFA background characters. Yes, Sari will have a crush on Kicker. (Thanks for the idea, poplilly2006!) This will be updated soon, so stay tuned!**

**~+Sanrio+~**


	12. Crushes, Playing Games, and Homework

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the previous chapter. I know I enjoyed writing it. ^_^**

**All characters © Hasbro**

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Hidden Crush

"Bumblebee?" asked Sari, poking her head into his room. "Can I borrow your MySims game?"

She turned on the lights and entered the empty room. Bumblebee's room had a yellow ceiling and walls, a black floor, and tons of Street Demon posters, a few with Shana Story on them. Sari spotted his black and yellow X-Cube system under his giant flat-screen TV. She decided to look inside and see if the game was there.

To her disappointment, it wasn't.

Sari then noticed a button on the side of his X-Cube. Pressing it, a little side compartment opened up. Inside it was a picture. Taking it out, she realized that it was of a young femme. The femme had blue optics, light green plating, and a white underbody. She was giving a peace sign. Making out the writing on the photo, Sari began to giggle.

"Sari?" asked Bumblebee. "What are you…?!"

Bumblebee noticed that one of his most precious treasures was in the hands of his younger sister. His faceplate became redder than a tomato.

"Where did you find that?!" he asked.

"In your X-Cube," Sari said, continuing to giggle. "I never knew you had a girlfriend, Bumblebee! What's her name?"

Bumblebee raced to snatch the photo from Sari, but she dodged him and ran out of the room with him hot on her trail.

"GIVE IT BACK, SARI!" Bumblebee yelled as he chased his little sister around the plant.

"Why?" Sari asked between fits of laughter. "It's absolutely priceless!"

"I SAID GIVE IT BACK!"

Sari looked at the photograph that Bumblebee was so desperate to retrieve and burst out laughing. "Bee has a girlfriend! Bee has a girlfriend!"

"I DO **NOT**!"

"Then what was this doing in your room?"

"I'm not telling you! Besides, what about that Kicker kid you said was cute?"

Sari stopped running and faced her brother. "That has nothing to do with this!"

"Admit it: you _love_ him. You wanna _marry_ him."

"SHUT UP!"

That was when Optimus entered the so-called living room. "What is going on in here?" he asked sternly.

"Sari won't give back my thing!" Bumblebee whined.

"I was just looking at it," Sari defended. "Besides, you started saying I liked someone I don't even know!"

"Well you were doing that to me first!"

"That's enough," said Optimus, "Sari, please give whatever you took back to Bumblebee."

"Okay, dad," she sighed, handing the picture back to Bumblebee. _At least I got a good look at it. Heh-heh!_

Bumblebee sped back to his room, turned on the lights, and locked the door. He sat on his charging berth and read the photo's message within his processor.

"If only you _were_ my girlfriend," he sighed. "But don't worry; one day, I'll see you again, and then I'll tell you."

He then placed the picture back into his X-Cube storage compartment. He could recite its message by spark.

_To Bumblebee: I'll Miss You! Your friend, Moonracer._

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How You Play the Game

"Goal!" Sari cheered.

Jetfire looked at the girl confusedly. "I am not understanding the point of this game. What are you calling it again?"

"Hockey," Sari beamed. "It's such a cool sport!"

"And what are being the teams?" asked Jetstorm from the other side of the "field," which was their technical backyard.

"It's you and Bumblebee vs. me and Jetfire."

"Then can we please be switching teams?" the twins asked together.

"Alright. Jetfire, you switch with Bumblebee. I'll be defender this time."

"What are the rules again?" asked Bumblebee.

Sari sighed and held her face in her palm. "The point of this game is to get the puck into the other team's goal and to make sure they don't put it into yours. Jetstorm and I are defenders, so we're trying to keep the puck out of the goal. You and Jetfire are the offenders, so you're trying to put the puck in the other team's goal. Understand?"

"I think," Bumblebee replied. "So many rules!"

"Let's just play!"

After Sari counted down, the game began.

Jetfire and Bumblebee practically fought each other for the puck, struggling to get it to the other's side. Eventually, Bumblebee managed to hit it onto the twins' side. He shot the puck at the goal, where Jetstorm quickly shot it away from him and past Bumblebee. Jetfire then shot the puck towards the other goal. It came so fast that Sari didn't even see it coming.

"How did they do that?!" Bumblebee asked in disbelief.

"Is that making us the winners?" asked Jetfire.

Sari turned around and picked up the puck. "Yeah, you guys win. That's enough for today."

As the twins headed inside high-fiving, Bumblebee lagged behind to help Sari bring in their hockey stuff.

"If I'd been fast enough, we could've beaten them…" he said.

"Don't feel bad, Bumblebee," Sari cheerily told her brother. "My gym teacher says it's not about winning or losing, it's how you play the game."

Sari went inside with the stuff she carried.

_How you play the game, huh?_ Bumblebee thought as he followed her inside.

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Homework

Sari grumbled to herself. The only bad thing about this school stuff—other than Alice, whom she'd learned to ignore—was that she had something called "homework." At least she had her Grandma-Arcee, who was a former teacher on Cybertron, to help her out.

"Alright, Sari," Arcee said, "What is 43 times 22?"

Sari tried to remember back to a few hours ago, when her teacher was demonstrating how to do it.

"Let's see…first I do 3 times 2, right?"

"Yes."

"And then 4 times 2?"

"You've got it."

However, Arcee noticed that Sari was writing in the wrong column.

"Oh no, you don't put it there, Sari. You put the 8 next to the 6."

"Oh, okay." Sari rewrote her answer. "Like that?"

Arcee nodded. "Now, you put a 0 underneath the 6."

"Why?"

"Because you're moving a space over up here."

"Okay."

"Then you put down 3 times 2 again…"

"Okay…"

"…along with 4 times 2…"

"Uh-huh…"

"And now, you add 86 and 860 together."

Sari carried out said direction.

"Did you get 946 as your answer?"

Sari nodded.

"That's my girl!" Arcee said, giving the girl a small hug. She loved it when a student learned something new. It brought her joy to teach sparklings (and human children, in Sari's case) and watch them grow with the knowledge they possessed. She felt that teaching others was a form of showing love and compassion; it was as though she had lost children, every time she saw her students walk out of the school for the last time…

"Grandma-Arcee?" asked Sari. "I need help again. This time, it's 151 times 34."

Arcee escaped her thoughts and resumed helping Sari. She knew that eventually, her "granddaughter" would learn all she could and not need anymore teaching.

So Arcee decided to stop worrying and enjoy the ride while it lasted.

**

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A/N: That concludes another chapter! I figured using subjects like crushes, games, and school stuff would be great to write about, and it was. Next time, I'm going to test out some autumn/winter-esque themes to see how well I can portray them. (After all, whenever I walk home from the bus stop, I tend to narrate about my surroundings in my head. XD) See you next time!

**Peace and love,**

**Sanrio**


	13. A Nighttime Chat and The First Snowfall

**A/N: Well, well, here we are once again. The first part of this chapter has been hiding in a spider web in the corner of my mind for a while now, begging to come out, and now it can. Enjoy!**

**All characters © Hasbro**

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Nighttime Chat

Family.

The word had all sorts of meanings. Sari's definition was any living thing that cared enough about a person to make them feel loved. But while Sari was pretty knowledgeable about the topic, she preferred not to talk about it, lest she be labeled a "robot-born" freak.

Which led her to question why Mr. Nordmark wanted to talk about such a sensitive (in her eyes, at least) subject.

"Does anyone want to share about their family?" Mr. Nordmark asked.

Daniel raised his hand.

"Go ahead, Daniel."

"I live with my Mom and Dad and my baby sister Nancy."

"That's nice," said Mr. Nordmark in an interested tone.

**Yeah, nice and **_**boring**_**,** Bunny moaned, making fake gagging noises. **I think I might actually die of boredom.**

"Don't be rude, Bunny," Sari hushed to the stuffed rabbit hidden in her backpack, "Even if it's true."

"Looks like Sari wants to share with us, Mr. Nordmark!" Alice called out smugly.

**Oh, no she **_**didn't**_**!** Bunny cried.

"Is that true, Sari?" asked Mr. Nordmark.

Sari sighed. _Okay, Sari,_ she thought to herself. _Just remember what you've told other people, and then make stuff up as you go along._

"Well, I…uh…live with my parents, my brothers and sister, my grandparents, my uncles, my aunt, and my cousins."

"That's quite an extended family you have!" Mr. Nordmark breathed. "How many family members live with you?"

"Seventeen, I guess."

Sari heard a few murmurs and "wows" around the room.

"All in one house?" asked Ishmael.

"Yup."

"And only one bathroom?" Gabriel inquired.

"Yeah."

"What are your brother's names?" asked Mitch.

Sari stopped and thought. Then she replied, "From oldest to youngest, there's Blake, Bill, Jeff, Jason, and Brandon."

"That was very interesting, Sari!" Mr. Nordmark told the young girl, obviously interested. "Does anyone else—"

"I'll go!" Alice blurted out, hand raised high. "I also have kind of a big family. I live with my dad, my…"

Sari tuned out and stared out the window.

**That girl is such a princess,** said Bunny.

"But there's something about her that feels weird…" Sari whispered.

Later that night…

As Sari headed back to her room after a delicious midnight snack, she heard the light clanging of a femme's stabilizing servos pass by her room. Poking her head out, she noticed that it was her mom. Wasn't she usually recharging at this time of night?

"Mom?" she asked.

Blackarachnia turned around, surprised to see her daughter still awake. "Sari, why are you still awake?"

"I couldn't sleep," Sari replied. "I was hungry and I had stuff on my mind."

"What kind of stuff?"

"School stuff."

Blackarachnia looked away as though in thought. She looked back at Sari. "Would some fresh air and a talk help?"

Sari nodded.

"Then follow me."

Confused, Sari followed her mother to the garage-door entrance of their home. As the door rose, Blackarachnia suddenly transformed to spider mode. Sari hadn't seen this form in a long time. It would've been frightening, if she didn't remember that this was her mom.

"Hop on, sweetie."

Sari followed her mother's directions. Blackarachnia crawled out of the plant, the door closing as she left.

"Mom, why are we out here?" Sari asked nervously. "What if we get caught?"

"We won't get caught, Sari," Blackarachnia replied. "Not a lot of people are out here during the night, making it safe to go out. And don't forget that I have excellent night vision, so if anything happens to you, I'll see it."

Blackarachnia began to crawl towards the city.

"It sounds like you've done this before," Sari thought aloud.

"I have, ever since we came to this planet. Whenever I felt stressed or needed some time to think, I'd use my webs to navigate around the city and just let go." Blackarachnia began to crawl up a building with Sari holding on tightly. "So what happened in school today?"

"We were talking about our families in school. I didn't want to talk, but I didn't want to be rude, so…I made up some stuff so that people wouldn't think I was weird."

"What exactly did you lie about?"

"You guys being alien robots. But I didn't lie about everything; I told them the names my brothers had on their fake IDs."

"You didn't like lying, did you?"

Sari shook her head. "I wish there was something that could make me forget about it, even if it was for just a second."

Blackarachnia finally reached the top of the building and transformed to robot mode. "I have something that might do the trick. But I want you to hold on tightly to my arm; and whatever you do, _don't_ let go."

Sari didn't have time to ask as a lone string of web shot out from her mother's wrist and onto a low, far-off flag pole. As the duo went swinging from the height, Sari felt anxiety, fear, and a whole other mess of emotions jump around within her. Those emotions were mixed in with the now blurry autumn sky and the cold air that stung her eyes.

Oddly, it felt good.

And with a thud, it was over. Sari cracked an unexpectedly closed eye open; they were both unharmed and on top of another building.

"I like to call that my 'web jump,'" Blackarachnia calmly stated.

"That…was…AWESOME!" Sari exclaimed, after which she was shushed by her mother.

"Did that help you forget your problem?"

"Only for a few seconds, but that was still fun! Can we do that again?"

"Hop on."

Later, after a few more rounds of "web-jumping," Blackarachnia and Sari sat atop the tallest building in Detroit: the Sumdac Systems tower. The two of them just sat and watched the twinkling stars that gleamed so beautifully, felt the nipping cold of Jack Frost, and simply kept each other company.

"After this, I'm taking you home to bed," Blackarachnia said.

"Okay," the tiny girl sleepily mumbled back.

_

* * *

_

The First Snowfall

"That's right, folks," said the forgotten left-on radio in Sari's room. "The first snowfall of the season has officially arrived, and it looks like it's gonna stick! So kids, you'd better grab your coats and sleds before the snow melts!"

Meanwhile, Sari's hands and face were once again plastered against the window in the living room. But this time, she was staring at the all-too-familiar pure-white crystals known as snowflakes. From what Ishmael had told her, each snowflake was like an angel's carving, and no two were exactly alike. Sari wondered as to how people knew that, seeing as snowflakes were hard to look at, and they melted when you touched them.

Snow pattern theories aside, Sari wrapped her red and blue scarf around her neck, put on her blue and yellow gloves, placed her double yellow-striped blue hat on her head, and slipped on her green and orange boots, all of which were made for her by Bulkhead with love. She ran into the kitchen, where she found her parents.

"Can I go outside, Mom and Dad?" she asked sweetly. "I've got my hat, scarf, coat, gloves, pants, and boots on."

"Alright, but don't stay out too long," said Optimus. "We don't want you getting sick like last time."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she said as she exited towards the back door.

Sari was overwhelmed by the wintery wonderland that was present before her. Just like it said in that book she read a long time ago, the snow covered the ground like a glistening white blanket. She immediately began to run around, sticking her tongue out to catch any stray flakes. After a while of that, she just flopped onto the ground and started making snow angels. However, every time she stood up, they looked unrecognizable.

"Aww…" she mumbled. "I worked so hard on this one, too."

"Sari? Is that you?"

Sari shot up faster than Superman at the sound of the voice she loved almost as much as her family. Could it be…_him_? True to her guess, Kicker was standing behind the rusted fence/gate that separated her backyard from the city. He stood there, confused, in his trademark white jacket.

"H-hi, Kicker…" Sari replied, face turning pink and growing warm. "What brings you here?"

"I was on my way to my cousin's house because my parents are out of town for the week. What are you doing here, Sari?" he asked.

"Oh, I live here." she answered nonchalantly.

Kicker raised an eyebrow. "You live here? In this old factory?"

"Yeah; I've lived here my whole life."

"…Just asking, but…is your family poor?"

"Not really, but we're getting along just fine."

"How do you buy clothes or food?"

"My uncles and aunt do the grocery shopping, and my second-oldest brother makes my clothes."

"Can I meet your brother?"

Sari didn't know what to think. Ever since she came to the school, Kicker had been nice to her, and she'd been nice to him. Sometimes, he'd even invite her to sit with him at lunch. If they did a group project, he'd help her as best as he could. Maybe she could trust him…but what if he started to pay more attention to Sari's family than Sari herself? What if he was trying to use her?

She wouldn't know unless she took a chance.

"Kicker…you like me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you consider me a friend?"

"Of course; you're nice, and you're into robots and video games."

Sari nervously breathed in and out. "…How good are you at keeping secrets?"

"Pretty good; I once kept my cousin's birthday surprise a secret for three months until the party. Why?"

Sari unhooked the gate entrance and (while squealing on the inside) took Kicker's hand. "Follow me; I want you to meet my family."

Kicker looked up at the seemingly-abandoned plant in amazement.

"Guys! A friend came over; can he stay?"

Twin orange and blue robots, a short yellow robot, a sleek blue robot, and a giant green robot came walking into the room. Kicker's eyes widened.

"A friend of yours has come to see you?" asked the orange and blue robots at the same time.

"What's his name?" asked the giant green one.

"Guys, this is Kicker; Kicker, these are my brothers. The one with the wheels in his feet is Blurr, the green guy is Bulkhead, the twins are Jetfire & Jetstorm, and the yellow bot is Bumblebee."

"So this is the Kicker kid we've heard so much about." said Bumblebee.

"Wow…" was all Kicker could say.

"Kicker, follow me…" Sari said, leading him to her bedroom. "I'll explain everything."

Later…

"So you lied about your brothers' names?" asked Kicker, who was sitting on Sari's tire-bed while she sat on the floor by him.

"I had to," Sari explained. "I didn't want anyone to find out about them."

"Why not?"

"They might get taken away or experimented on." Sari stood up. "Do you swear not to tell anyone?"

Kicker was silent.

"Please?"

"…I'll try."

Sari smiled. "Thanks, Kicker."

Kicker looked away, lightly blushing. "N-no problem." There was something about her smile that—

"Hey Sari," Glyph asked, poking her head in, "Do you and your friend want some hot chocolate?"

Sari looked at Kicker, who nodded. "Sure!"

Kicker followed Sari to the kitchen. It'd taken a lot of explaining, but he finally understood Sari's life and why she didn't like to talk about it. He could only hope that he could keep her secret.

And he could also hope that he'd figure out these weird feelings he had when she smiled.

**

* * *

**

A/N: I apologize if this seems a little sloppy. My sister was bugging me about letting her use the computer. And yes, romance will be involved. Sweet, fluffy romance to accompany the sweet, fluffy family moments. Under normal circumstances, it'd be BumblebeexSari, but since they're related in this fanfic, I decided to mix things up. ^_^

**BTW, I'm thinking of eventually (when Sari is a teenager) adding some Decepticons and giving Sari a power suit that resembles her techno-organic look to add some action/adventure coolness. Do you think I should do it? Please let me know in your review.**

**Peace and love,**

**Sanrio**


	14. Keep Friends Close and Enemies Distant

**A/N: Enjoy!**

**All characters © Their rightful owners**

_

* * *

_

Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Distant

Last month, which was technically last year, Sari had finally shared her secret with someone from the "outside world," Kicker. And he had taken it pretty well. He didn't think of Sari any less, ignore or use her, even though he did find it cool she lived with giant alien robots. He was a nine-year-old boy, what was she supposed to expect? She'd tell him tales of growing up with the Autobots, and he'd tell her all about normal human life. Because of these conversations and simply being together, Sari and Kicker had grown closer as friends.

So one day, Sari decided to bring Ishmael over for a play date. The outcome of that experience failed horribly.

Ishmael had screamed upon her first glimpse of Blackarachnia. As it turned out, she had arachnophobia: an irrational fear of spiders. Ishmael ran as far as she could from Sari, probably all the way home. In school, she moved away from Sari's desk and sat next to a redhead named Trisha. They barely talked to each other now, and Ishmael went out of her way to avoid Sari. She'd even hear Ishmael whisper to Trisha about "how Alice was right: she _is_ a weirdo."

Ishmael was just an acquaintance…so why did she make Sari cry?

Her brothers, Bunny, and Kicker had done all they could to cheer her up. But in the end, Sari had sworn off of making new friends. She already had two AND she had her brothers, so she didn't need any more, right?

That Thursday, it was rainy and mucky. Sari entered school through the elementary entrance Gadget had shown her and power walked to class, her boots squeaking with each grumpy step.

As she hung up her coat, she noticed Ishmael and Trisha whispering again through the corner of her eye. When she turned to look, they had stopped, and Ishmael was looking down at her folded hands. Trisha was staring coldly at Sari.

She'd never felt so insignificant and ugly in her entire life before this day. She just wanted it to end. She didn't care how; as long as it stopped, she'd calm down.

Sari took to her seat. Kicker had moved his seat next to hers ever since they became friends.

"I saw them," Sari mumbled, her voice cracking slightly. "They were whispering again."

Kicker looked at her, listening silently.

"…And when I turned to look at them…Ishmael looked away…And Trisha looked at me like I was a piece of trash!"

"Will you cut that out?!" Kicker exclaimed. "They're stupid; you're better than them. My Aunt Mikaela says that if people like them stay mean when they get older, they end up poor and fat, and that the people they bully end up happy and healthy."

Sari continued to look down. "You're just saying that."

"No I'm not! You can't let them bring you down."

The bell rang, and the students went to their desks. Alice casually passed by Sari's desk, a note drifting to it. Sari picked up the note.

_Just so you know, Ishmael wants to be MY friend now. Love, Alice_

Sari fiercely crumpled up the note and aimed it at Alice's head. It missed and hit the floor. Sari grabbed her backpack off of the back of her chair and screamed into it.

**OWW! What's with the screaming?!**

"Sorry, Bunny," she whispered. "I'm just really mad right now."

"Are you talking to your backpack?" asked Kicker.

"Uh…"

The door closed, and two adults plus one child entered the classroom. The first adult was Mr. Nordmark, and the second was a woman who looked funny to Sari. She was some kind of Asian lady with long pink hair and sky-blue eyes; her attire consisted of a short-sleeved black shirt, long black pants, and brown boots that came halfway up to her knee. She was holding the child's hand. Despite having long pink hair and shiny salmon-colored eyes, she was pretty bland in terms of color. She wore a kitty hat on her head with a face and ears, a long-sleeved brown dress, light brown tights, and black Mary-Jane shoes. The girl, who was like a tiny clone of the woman, looked nervous and ready to cry.

"Class, as you all know, Sari joined us last month. As luck would have it, we have another student joining us today! This is Toeto Kamui, and she recently moved here all the way from Japan. How long have you been here, Toeto?"

Toeto remained silent and gripped her hat.

"You will have to excuse my daughter," the woman said warmly. "She is a bit nervous and knows very little English." She looked down at her daughter. _"Ganbaru, Toeto."_

Sari raised an eyebrow. What was she saying?

"_Eto…ichi gatsu."_

"She has been here for one month." her mother translated. She looked over at Mr. Nordmark. "You said you would help her learn English, right?"

"Well, I don't know if it will interfere with my class. So I was hoping she'd befriend someone who would help her out. Don't worry about a thing, Mrs. Kamui."

"Very well. And please, call me Luka."

"Alright then, Luka." The teacher faced his class. "Class, I want you all to make Toeto feel at home here."

Sari noticed Alice was snickering. She was whispering to a boy and pointing at Toeto, who was shaking like a leaf.

Sari remembered how nervous she had been on her first day. She felt something of a tight knot in her stomach when she saw Toeto in the same position she was in once. What was it…sympathy? Yeah, that was it.

"Does anyone want Toeto to sit with them?"

Sari raised her hand. She hadn't meant to do it, but looking at poor little Toeto made her uneasy.

"Okay. Toeto, please take your seat next to Sari."

The woman said something to her child, which was probably a translation of Mr. Nordmark's words, then kissed her on the cheek and left the room. Toeto nodded nervously and trembled over to her seat. She placed her cat-head backpack on her chair and immediately buried her face in her folded arms.

"Poor kid," Kicker whispered to Sari. "Why'd you ask her to sit next to you? I thought you were done making friends."

"Well…maybe I am, maybe I'm not."

* * *

Later at recess, when the sun had finally come out, Sari and Kicker sat by themselves in the chalk-drawing area. Sari had pulled Bunny out and was telling Kicker about something funny that recently happened to Blurr.

Sari and Kicker turned their heads and noticed that Toeto had walked up to them. Toeto noticed they were watching her and froze, eyes the size of dinner plates with fear.

"_E…eto…"_ she mumbled. She pointed to Bunny. _"…Usagi-kun…"_ Toeto dug through her dress pocket and pulled out a stuffed white kitten. She played with its movable, miniscule limbs.

"_K-konichiwa…watashi wa Neko-chan desu…"_ she said in a tiny voice, making it sound like the cat was talking.

Sari raised an eyebrow.

**I can sort of understand what she's saying. I think she said that this is her stuffed cat Neko. That's like another word for cat. The –chan part is some kind of polite thing I don't understand.**

"Oh…" replied Sari. She moved Bunny's arms the way Toeto moved her cat's arms. "Hi, Neko," she said in a high voice as well. "My name is Bunny."

**This is so degrading.**

"I don't know what you said, but shut up and play along," Sari muttered under her breath.

For once in the short time she'd been here, Toeto smiled. And she was laughing. Sari laughed too. Kicker just watched on, happy that Sari had come to her senses and made a new friend.

"Oh my, what's this?" asked Alice, who swiped the plushies away from the two girls. "Playing with dolls? Isn't that for babies?" She threw both stuffed animals on the damp ground.

"_Neko-chan!"_ Toeto cried. She ran to pick up her toy, but Alice grabbed it first, held it away from Toeto, and cheated by standing on her toes. She also grabbed Bunny and held him away.

"Come and get `em, babies!" she laughed.

"Hey! What's your problem, Alice?!" Kicker yelled.

"You stay out of it!"

Sari watched on in horror. What could she do?

"_N-n-neko-chan…"_ Toeto was sobbing now. Sari couldn't take it anymore.

So she pushed Alice onto her back.

The plushies were flung in the air and caught by Kicker in the nick of time. He handed them back to their respective owners.

After hugging her cat toy, Toeto curtsied before Sari. _"Domo arigatou…eto…"_

**She doesn't know your name.**

"Sari."

"_Arigatou, Sari-chan."_

The girls and Kicker looked over at Alice, who was sniffling and starting to cry.

"You deserved it!" yelled Sari. "You just wouldn't leave me or her alone!"

Alice screamed angrily before running towards the school.

"Up high!" Kicker cheered, placing his hand next to Sari's. They shared a high-five.

* * *

By the time school was out, Jazz had come to pick Sari up. He explained that Optimus was working really hard on something and was busy.

"Did anything go down at school?" he asked in his smooth voice.

"A lot!" Sari replied. "There was this new girl, Toeto. She has a stuffed cat called Neko, just like my Bunny. She and I became friends today."

"That's cool. Good to know your day was fine."

.:S C E N E C H A N G E:.

Meanwhile, Alice trudged home to a gigantic old building. It somewhat resembled the one inhabited by Anne Frank long ago. She stepped inside, sobbing.

"Daddy!" she yelled, running from room to room. "Daddy! Daddy!"

"Alice!" a voice boomed, baring a resemblance to nails on a chalkboard. "I've told you many times to keep quiet! You don't want a certain uncle of yours to hear you, do you?"

Alice shook her head and walked into a dark room.

"I thought not. Now, did something happen today? You have a few scratches on the backs of your arms."

Alice wiped her eyes with her hand. "I was just playing jump rope at recess, and this girl pushed me down for no reason!"

She headed further into the dark room and climbed on top of something. A metallic claw-like hand placed itself around her.

"Alright, stop leaking," he said. "Who was this girl?"

"Sari Automan. She's always being weird and talking to her dumb toy rabbit."

"Well, don't mind her. She's a worthless piece of scrap. You're better than any of those children."

Alice looked up at a pair of glowing red…somethings.

"You mean it, Daddy?" she sniffled.

"Of course. You're my little angel. Now why don't you go see what Aunt Strika is doing? I'm sure Uncle Oil Slick can also take care of those scratches."

"Okay, Daddy! I love you!" Alice giggled, hugging the thing she sat on, which was a leg that belonged to the voice. The voice itself stepped out of the room and into the light, revealed to be a purple and gray Cybertronian that resembled a jet. He bared a purple insignia on his chestplate, which looked like a twisted version of the Autobot symbol.

"Daddy loves you too, sweetheart…" he replied in his nail-on-chalkboard voice. "Now get going, before—"

"STARSCREAM!" a new voice rang through the building. "Are you talking to that pet of yours again?!"

"O-of course not, sir!" he yelled back. "Leave, now!" he whispered to Alice, who took the hint and left.

The Cybertronian, now known as Starscream, brought his servo to his head. "This is going to be another one of those primus-awful lectures, I'm sure of it."

**

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**

A/N: BAM! No one expected that, am I right? …Right? Well anyway, now you know about Alice's background, which I had planned to be like this ever since I decided to put her in the story. Also, I'm sorry if anyone seemed OOC, especially Starscream. He will still hate Megatron to the point of wanting to offline him, but I'll decide how that plays out.

**Toeto, the pink-haired girl, is from a ****Vocaloid**** song of the same name. Her parents are the Vocaloids Gakupo Kamui and Luka Megurine. Why? CUZ I SAID SO. And I ship GakupoxLuka. ^_^ I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Until then, r & r!**

**Peace & love,**

**Smin**


	15. Jealousy, Valentines, and Longing

**A/N: Well, since it's almost Valentine's Day, I figured I'd treat you guys to some romance/friendship. ^_^ Enjoy!**

**All characters © HasTak**

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Jealousy

Optimus Prime pulled into the plant that served as a home and opened his car doors. Sari and Kicker hopped out with their backpacks. Today was Friday, which meant that it was time for a sleepover. This week, it was Kicker's turn to sleep over at Sari's house.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" called Kicker.

"We'll see about that!" Sari replied.

As Optimus shifted to robot mode, he noticed that Sari and Kicker were laughing. It made his spark warm to know that his "daughter" had made some human friends. Maybe now she wouldn't feel so…so…

"HA! I win!" Sari cheered. "Kicker's a rotten egg!"

"Aww," whined Kicker. "Oh well, I can still beat you at Rock Hero!"

"Dream on!"

Optimus laughed to himself as he followed the kids inside.

As the children made themselves comfortable on the gigantic couch, Bumblebee stepped in. He noticed that Sari was playing a video game with Kicker. And he was also sitting in _his_ spot. Playing _his_ guitar controller. With _his_ sister.

"Oh hey Bumblebee," Sari greeted. "You remember Kicker, right?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, gritting his dental plates. "Hi…"

Kicker waved. "Hi."

"Uh, I'm gonna go get an oil can. Maybe I'll watch you guys play."

"`Kay, later Bee."

Bumblebee left the room and knocked on Bulkhead's door. The door rose up and Bumblebee stepped in. Bulkhead was using a large supercomputer to update his deviantART page.

"Hey, little buddy," said Bulkhead, turning away from the screen. "Something bugging you?"

"More like someone," Bumblebee mumbled.

"Who?"

"That Kicker kid. He's been acting all chummy around Sari lately."

"Why shouldn't he? He's her best friend."

"BUT **I'M** HER BEST FRIEND!" Bumblebee immediately covered his mouth when he realized how loud he was. After a half a minute of silence, he uncovered his mouth. "I'm sorry big guy; I…I didn't mean it."

"It's alright," Bulkhead replied.

"I just wish I knew why I was acting like this…"

"You're jealous."

Bumblebee did a double take. "What?"

"You're jealous because Sari's doing everything you did with her with Kicker. And I'm just guessing here, but do you feel like she might forget about you?"

Bumblebee looked away. "Maybe…"

"Bee, not only are you her brother, but you're a giant to her. It's gonna be pretty hard for Sari to forget about you. And Kicker? He's too nice to try to make you jealous. I think he actually wants to be your friend. So why don't you try to have fun with them?"

Bumblebee thought for a moment before heading for the door. "Thanks, Bulkhead."

"What're brothers for?" he replied, before turning back to his updates.

Bumblebee sat next to Sari on the couch.

"I thought you were getting oil," she said.

"Changed my mind. Hey Kicker, can I play against you after this? We have another guitar controller."

"Okay." Kicker nodded.

_Maybe this kid's not so bad after all…_thought Bumblebee.

_

* * *

_

Valentines

"Aunt Red Alert," asked Sari, "Do you know what Valentime's Day is?"

Red Alert looked down at the young human child. "Why do you ask?"

"A bunch of kids at school were talking about Valentime's Day."

"Hold on a nano-click," RA said, searching the web on the supercomputer she shared with Ratchet. "Here we are. According to Wikipedia, Valentine's Day is a holiday that occurs on February 14. People buy flowers and chocolates to give to their loved ones as a gift. Children make paper hearts and give them to the people they care about the most. All of this is done to celebrate love."

_Love, eh? _Sari thought to herself. _Sounds like fun! I should try it!_

"Thanks for letting me know!" said Sari as she raced to her room. She pressed a button on a nearby panel to lock the door.

**You seem excited,** Bunny observed. **Did something happen?**

"Aunt Red Alert told me what Valentime's Day was."

**Actually, it's Valen**_**tine**_**'s.**

"Whatever. I'll be right back. I need to get some stuff." Sari unlocked the door and raced to Bulkhead's room next door. "Hey Bulkhead, can I borrow some construction paper, a pair of scissors, and a glue stick?"

"Sure," said Bulkhead. "What color?"

"One of everything, please."

"That's a lot of construction paper! What exactly are you making?"

"You'll see!" Sari replied, grabbing the supplies she needed and racing back to her room, where she relocked the door.

Sari worked tirelessly and endlessly on her little project. By the time her dinner was ready, she was done.

"You think they'll like it?" she asked Bunny as she picked him up.

**I hope so. You really put a lot of effort into them.**

"We'll find out tomorrow!" Sari exclaimed as she went off to eat her dinner.

.:T H E N E X T D A Y:.

When Optimus Prime had rebooted his systems the next day, he found an odd little paper next to him on his charging berth. It was dark blue and in the shape of a heart. He carefully opened it and read the message in his processor. _Happy Valentine's Day, Dad! Love, Sari_

Optimus noticed that Blackarachnia had also woken up and was reading a purple version of the card Optimus had. "Optimus," she asked in a half-yawn, "Do you know anything about a 'Valentine Day'?"

"It must be another one of those Earth customs Red Alert told Sari about."

"Huh. Cute, isn't it?"

Optimus nodded. He and his wife left their room and noticed that everyone else was also awake and holding a different colored heart. Bumblebee's was yellow with black stripes, Arcee's was pink, Ratchet's was red…everybody had one.

"Optimus Prime, sir," Jetfire asked, waving around his orange paper heart.

"Are you knowing about these hearts of paper?" finished Jetstorm, who was also waving around his light blue paper heart.

"Yeah, where did these all come from?" Wasp added.

All of a sudden, each family member turned their head to see the youngest and only human member skipping into the room with Bunny in tow. Oddly, she was already dressed in the outfit Bulkhead made for her last autumn, her hair was brushed and put into pigtails, and she was finishing off a piece of toast. Her crumb-laden smile hinted that she knew something they didn't.

"Good morning, everyone!" she greeted in a sing-song voice after swallowing. "How did you like your presents?"

"You mean _you_ did this?" Glyph asked, pointing to her aquamarine paper heart.

"M-hm! I just wanted to do something nice for Valentine's Day is all!" Sari put Bunny in her backpack, zipped it up, and headed for the door. "You ready, Dad?"

"Wait…you already had breakfast?"

"Yup."

"And you brushed your hair?"

"Yup."

"And you did your homework?"

"I got that done yesterday."

There was complete silence in the plant.

**I think he took it pretty well,** said Bunny.

Optimus cleared his vocal processor. "Well then…uh, just let me have my morning energon and I'll drive you to school, okay Sari?"

"Okay, Dad! I'll wait." Sari ran over to the TV and flipped on the Cartoon Channel.

Later on at school during free time, Sari pulled out her last two valentines.

"Here's one for you," she said, handing the pink one to Toeto.

When Toeto opened hers, her eyes lit up. There were so many adorable cat stickers inside! And…and Sari had even written "Happy White Day" in kanji! Well it was sloppy kanji, but readable none the less.

"_Kawaii! Domo arigatou, Sari-chan!"_ she managed to squeal in her quiet voice.

Sari just smiled back. She could tell that Toeto was happy. "And here's one for you," she said, hiding her giddiness as she handed Kicker his red valentine. His had a bunch of _Ultraman Tiga_ pictures in them, because that was his favorite TV show.

"Thanks!" he said. "Here's yours and Toeto's."

Sari's card had a few cute little bumblebees on them, reminding her of her brother. Toeto's card had a glued-on picture her favorite character, Nekomimi Popstar, inside making a heart with her fingers.

"_Domo arigatou, Kicker-kun!"_ Toeto said, pulling out cards of her own. _"Korede."_

Kicker's card had a bunch of hearts and sports items on it. Sari's card had multiple hearts and smiley faces. Inside both, Toeto had carefully written "Happy Valentine Day" in English with a little smiling kitten head doodled beside the message.

"Thank you, Toeto!" Sari said happily.

"Thanks a lot." added Kicker.

Toeto looked down, blushing. "Y…you…aru…werucomu."

Sari instantly glomped her friend. Toeto, while startled from the unexpected action, hugged her friend back.

Alice glared at the trio from across the room. She looked away and gritted her teeth. Who did they think they were, showing off like that?! What she wouldn't give to just kick them right in the—her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a paper heart landing right in front of her on her desk. She looked around.

"Over here," a voice whispered.

She looked behind herself. It was Wilder, that kid who always got into trouble.

"Thought you needed one," he said.

"Hmph!" Alice gave him the cold shoulder and turned away.

…And once she assumed he was gone, she picked up the paper heart and held it close to herself lovingly.

_

* * *

_

Longing

Bumblebee shut off his X-Cube and put away his game and controllers. His gaming space was pretty much the only thing he ever kept clean. After he put away his racing game, he opened the little compartment that used to be secret. He took out the photo he treasured dearly. It was a photo of the only femme who had ever beaten him in a race.

He remembered back to his last day with her on Cybertron.

"_So…you're really going to Earth?" she asked._

_He nodded. "I wanted to get into the Elite Guard, but I guess this'll have to do."_

"_How long will you be gone?"_

"_I dunno; as long as it takes, I guess."_

"_Sentinel Prime says our team shouldn't take more than a stellar-cycle," She smiled and flashed a peace sign. "Just don't forget your old pal Moonie while you're gone, okay?"_

_He gave a thumbs-up back. "I won't."_

"_Come on, Bumblebee!" called Bulkhead from inside the ship. "Ultra Magnus wants all `bots on their ships, pronto!"_

"_Here."_

_Bumblebee was handed a photo. It was of the femme standing before him, and on it was written a message: _To Bumblebee, I'll miss you! Your friend, Moonracer_._

"_Keep it, at least until you come back."_

"_All `bots to their respective ships, NOW!" barked Sentinel Prime. "That includes __YOU__, Moonracer!"_

"_Yes, sir," she growled, following after her team leader. "See you someday, Bee!"_

_As Bumblebee boarded his ship, he called out to her, "I love—" and was cut off by the ship's closed doors._

"To think it's been almost nine stellar-cycles…" he mumbled. "If I knew I was going to be on this planet for longer than one, I would've just told her before I had to go how I felt about her."

He sighed and trudged out of his room. As he got himself some energon, one `bot noticed he was looking upset.

"Something wrong, Bumblebee?" asked Ironhide. "You look a little down."

"Leave me alone," Bumblebee mumbled. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Does this have anything to do with Moonracer?"

Bumblebee stiffened, realizing his was still holding the photo. "Was it the picture or Sari's big mouth that gave you a clue?"

"Both."

Bumblebee sighed. "Okay, I'll talk about it. I just miss her, that's all. She's just my friend—"

"A femme friend who beat you at racing," Ironhide added.

"—my femme friend who beat me in a race," Bumblebee continued, "And I miss her."

"But you wanted to be more than a friend, didn't you?"

Bumblebee hesitated in answering. "…Yes."

"You know, I was in a situation like yours," Ironhide began. "I had this sweet little lady back on the energon farm that was tough as armor-plating but at the same time sweet like an energon drop. Chromia was her name. But when I realized I'd been drafted to go to Earth, I started thinkin' I'd never see her again. But she told me to keep up hope, and now whenever I feel sad, I just think of her, and I feel happy again."

Bumblebee looked down at the photo he held. "You're right. Thanks, Ironhide." He headed towards the living room to see what Sari was up to.

"Anytime, Bee."


End file.
